According to Jennifer Mueller in her articles about the history of the Regal Phonograph and its Ideal brand for the Canadian Antique Phonograph Society -
Part I and Part II, the Premier Phonograph Company was launched in 1923 by E.A. Stevenson, former President and general Manager of the Regal Phonograph Company.
Ms Mueller states that "The [Premier] cabinet phonographs are identical in appearance [to the Regal's Ideal cabinets], and since E.A. Stevenson was responsible for the manufacture of both machines, it is safe to assume that many of the specifications would be similar too. The "Premier", like the "Ideal", was equipped with a tone modulator and a convertible tone arm, which permitted the playing of any make of record. The motor had a heavy cast frame, two detachable barrels made of spring steel, bronze meshing gears, was graduated for seven different speeds and was capable of playing three records on one winding. The phonograph had a twelve-inch turntable. Models were available with either a fretwork grille or with doors. Weight was approximately 75 lbs.21 Dimensions and finish varied with the model.
[The Premier Phonograph Co.] became a retail store, Premier Radio Co., at 505 Yonge Street, Toronto, in the 1930s and continued under Stevenson’s guidance until his death in December 1947."
Toronto Daily Star, December 14, 1922, p.41.
The Globe, April 13, 1923, p. 5. Top and bottom. Premier Model XVI: "Premier Phonographs are manufactured by skilled handicraftsmen -- in one of Canada's finest equipped plants -- located in Toronto"
Toronto Daily Star, September 28, 1923, p. 12.
Toronto Daily Star, October 3, 1923, p. 7.
Toronto Daily Star, October 12, 1923, p. 10.
Toronto Daily Star, November 27, 1923, p. 2.
Steve Redman supplies two photographs of a "Premier" upright talking machine for sale in Toronto in 2023.
A Premier upright for sale through Facebook Marketplace in Oakville, Ontario in 2023.
A Premier upright listed in Toronto, Ontario in 2025.
A Premier upright for sale through Facebook Marketplace in Chilliwack, B.C. in 2025. Submitted by Lance Husoy.
A Premier console model for sale through Craigslist in Victoria, B.C. in 2024. Submitted by Lance Husoy. Curiously, this Premier has the Ontario Premier label on the cabinet lid, yet it was being sold from the city that produced the British Columbia Premier phonograph!
Two ads from the Toronto Daily Star dated January and February 1931 advertising DeForest Crosley radios and showing Premier Phonograph Co. as one of the dealers:
