The Empire phonograph was manufactured by The George McLagan Furniture Co., Limited, Stratford, Ontario and marketed in western Canada.
Canadian Music Trades Journal, November 1917, p. 80: "Mr. Russell Teeple, of the phonograph department of the George McLagan Furniture Co., Ltd, Stratford, is now on the road interesting dealers in the Lyric line of phonographs and records. Mr. Teeple is first going through to the eastern coast, and will then start out for Western Canada. The Lyric and Empire phonographs which the McLagan firm are marketing embrace 14 models, running from $17 to $250."
The Empire Story
There were multiple Empire-branded phonographs marketed in Canada with three distinct labels.
1. McLagan "Empire"
2. Purdy/Regal "Empire"
3. Purdy/Phonola "Empire"
The George McLagan Furniture Co., Ltd. association with the Empire brand is well documented. The initial McLagan ads for this brand appear alongside ads for the company's major phonograph brand, Lyric, in newspapers across Canada beginning in mid-1918.
The Regal Phonograph Co. had been manufacturing phonographs under the "Ideal" brand since 1915. In 1917, the company moved to 145 Church Street, Toronto, which Talking Machine World described as a three-storey building being fitted out as Regal's "factory, office and show-rooms." The earliest ads for the Purdy Phonograph Company show its address as 151 Church Street. So the two companies were practically next door to each other.
Beginning in mid-1917, Purdy marketed a line of phonographs named Grandola. At the same time, the company advertised phonograph models identical to machines illustrated in Regal advertisements from early 1917. It appears that Purdy was both a manufacturer and a jobber. It is possible that Purdy purchased the Regal cabinet/machine, changed the branding to Empire, and sold it as its own private-label phonograph.
A good example is the lidless tabletop model shown on this page. Regal advertised it as the Ideal Model No. 2, while Purdy advertised it as the Empire Model no. 25. The safest historical conclusion is that the “The Empire” tabletop is a private-label version of the Regal Ideal Model No. 2, with Regal the probable manufacturer and Purdy apparently involved in its distribution.
Purdy manufactured an acoustic upright phonograph with a third Empire label design. A substantially later Orthophonic-style Empire was manufactured by the Phonola Company of Canada, Ltd., Kitchener, Ontario. The two machines bear apparently identical Empire labels, suggesting that the Empire name may have been a private or trade brand used by more than one Canadian manufacturer. Whether there was a direct commercial connection between Purdy and Phonola remains unknown.
St. Catharines Standard, September 14, 1918, p. 2. The "McLagan Empire".
Edmonton Journal, September 18, 1918, p. 14. Ad by James Ramsay Limited, Edmonton.
Calgary Herald, October 4, 1918, p. 12. Ad by Neilson's, 120 Eighth Ave. E., Calgary.
Montreal Star, September 16, 1919, p. 25. Ad by Wilder's Limited, Montreal.
Montreal Star, September 22, 1919, p. 21.
Regina Leader-Post, October 16, 1919, p. 3. Ad by R.H. Williams and Sons Limited, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Victoria Daily Times (Victoria B.C.), November 8, 1920, p. 5.
Regina Leader-Post, November 22, 1920, p. 3. Ad by R.H. Williams and Sons Limited, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Regina Leader-Post, January 12, 1921, p. 3. Ad by R.H. Williams and Sons Limited, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, January 25, 1921, p. 11.
The Province (Vancouver), December 23, 1921, p. 15. Ad by David Spencer Limited.
Regina Leader-Post, February 18, 1922, p. 5. Ad by R.H. Williams and Sons Limited, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Toronto Daily Star, September 1, 1922, p. 20. An Empire upright phonograph for sale at Heintzman's.
An Empire phonograph for sale through Facebook Marketplace in 2024 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
An Empire phonograph posted to the CAPS Facebook page in June 2024.
An Empire phonograph listed in Sudbury, Ontario in 2025.
A table model Empire phonograph.
Another table model Empire phonograph for sale through Facebook Marketplace in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2026.
A console model Empire phonograph.
There was also an Empire Phonograph Company (later named Empire Phonograph Parlors) located in Toronto, Ontario, that repaired and rented phonographs. It was also listed as a dealer of Brunswick records.
Canadian Furniture World and the Undertaker, March 1919, p. 29: "The Empire Phonograph Co. has been registered at Toronto."
Talking Machine World, March 1921, p. 121: "The Empire Phonograph Co., of 234 Queen Street [Toronto], has just taken on the Brunswick record agency."
Talking Machine World, April 1921, p. 83: "The Empire Phonograph Co., of Toronto, recently advertised in a local paper that phonographs could be rented from them at $2.50 per week, a batch of records being included with delivery."
Toronto Daily Star, February 15, 1922 p. 26. In 1921 and 1922, Empire Phonograph Co., 234 Queen Street East, Toronto, publish multiple classified ads offering phonograph repair. They are also listed as a Brunswick record dealer.
By October, 1924 Empire Phonograph Company, Toronto, are occupying a store across the street at 235 Queen St. E. and are listed as Empire Phonograph Parlors along with other dealers of Brunswick records (TDS, March 26, 1925 p. 10).
