Cliftophone & Records, Ltd.
95 Park Street, Southwark, London (1928)
40, Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 (1929)
Woodstock Road, Shepherd’s Bush London W12 (1929)

William E. Clifton (1880-1935) held 12 patents for the reproduction of speech and music. In 1928 he founded the record company Cliftophone and Records. His inventions, as listed below revolutionized the possibilities of reproducing speech and music.

Cliftophone was also a brand used in the early 1920s by Brunswick Ltd. and the Chappell Piano Co.

They also sold Pelican portable radios made by Cahill & Co. Ltd. In 1928.

Cliftophone and Records Limited was registered in 1928 by Clifton to acquire the business of Cliftophone Ltd. manufacturers of gramophone and gramophone records.

The company was wound up by a court order on 21 October 1929. [1]

PATENTS GRANTED TO WILLIAM ERNEST CLIFTON: [2]

1. 289552 Sound Diaphragm (1929)
2. 360862 Cinematograph Film Strip (1935-1936)
3. 289703 Apparatus for Reproducing or Recording Sound Waves (1928)
4. 284381 Sound Projector (1927)
5. 248684 Sound-Recording & Sound-Reproducing Instrument (1924)
6. 249335 Sound-Recording & Sound Reproducing Instrument (1924)
7. 226821 Construction of Concrete Floors & Roofs (1921-1922)
8. 230249 Phonograph Diaphragm
9. 227106 Diaphragm for Sound Recording Instruments (1921)
10. 221988 Concrete Slab Building (1921)
11. 220440 Sound Recording & Reproducing Instrument (1921)
12. 220439 Sound Recording Instrument (1921) 

A description of Clifton’s audio products

When a big corporation like the Chappell Piano Co., Ltd., which is known and esteemed throughout the whole world, becomes the sole sales concessionaire for a new invention, it is a sure guarantee of its excellence. This is what has happened in the case of the Cliftophone. The inventor of this very fine machine is a gentleman named Clifton, of great scientific attainments, who has devoted many years to the study of sound reproduction.

After much labour, he has evolved a gramophone which may be looked upon as the very last word in talking machines. As might be expected from the work which has been bestowed upon it, the Cliftophone exhibits certain valuable improvements. These have been achieved by means of alterations in the accessories rather than through changes in the actual machine.

The soundbox is of novel construction, being fitted with a compensating lever as the connection between the diaphragm and the stylus bar, thus dispensing with that tendency to work loose and give a disagreeable rattle, which is the fault of some of the ordinary sound-boxes. In the Cliftophone soundbox, there is absolutely no possibility of this loosening. Again, the "Twin Reed" composite diaphragm is an innovation that emerges triumphantly from all tests. It has been the result of countless experiments and, as a consequence, has reached the highest pinnacle of perfection in regard to the properties of diaphragms.

Another remarkable feature of the Cliftophone is the tonearm, with its continuation, the reproducing chamber. In this, it has been the object of the inventor to make the reproduction truly realistic, and to that end, he has introduced a special "articulation" or hinge for the tone-arm, which entirely prevents any "shake" or loss of motion, yet compels it to offer absolutely rigid resistance to the "drag" of the needle. Thus, the whole of the music may be heard without the slightest loss. The tone chambers, too, have been so designed as to secure the melodious and rhythmical development of the music emitted by the soundbox until it reaches the ear of the listener.

From unsolicited testimonials, it would appear that the Cliftophone has succeeded in overcoming the prejudices of hardened gramophone haters and in drawing forth the admiration of the most scientific sound specialists. [3]

[1] Register of Defunct and Other Companies 1975, Page 123.
[2] Canadian Intellectual Property Office (cipo.ic.gc.ca)
[3] The Talking Machine Industry. Published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd.