TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: RCA Victor Nipper Statues Adorn Town

RCA Victor Nipper Statues Adorn Town

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
11 Jul 2005 19:21:04 -0700

The Victor phonograph company, which became part of RCA, created a
logo "His Master's Voice" showing a dog, with his ear lifted,
listening to a phonograph. This logo became very famous, AFAIK
remains in use to this day on whoever owns RCA-Victor compact disks
label (BMG?)

(The modernized RCA logo is owned by Thomson consumer electronics of
France).

Anyway, the founder of Victor, Eldridge Johnson, was from Moorestown
NJ. To celebrate its heritage, many residents have set up statues of
Nipper throughout the town this summer.

RCA made quite a bit of telephone equipment. Some of it appeared to
look exactly like Western Electric products. TV crews wore headsets
similar to that of Bell System operators. Others were built for the
military and contained security features. RCA also made computers but
didn't do well in that and sold that business to Sperry Univac.

In the postwar years, RCA gained more and more income from defense and
industrial products (ie televsion cameras and transmitters) and less
from consumer goods (record players). Eventually all consumer lines
were dropped and later TV lines were dropped. Defense systems were a
big business.

The huge RCA-Victor plant complex was located in Camden NJ.
RCA-Victor was sold to GE which it turn split it up and sold off to
various parties. Lockheed Martin took over some defense electronics
and still runs some plants in the Moorestown area. However, virtually
all of the original Camden complex has been torn down. One building
is now a fancy apartment house (and has the Nipper logo in stained
glass on the roof). One other bldg is in use as a school district
office building. Camden as a city has seen much better days.

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