Carola - Canadian Antique Phonograph Project

The Carola Company of Cleveland, Ohio introduced a small metal talking machine in 1916 and advertised extensively through 1917. Although there is no definite evidence that the Carola was manufactured in Canada, the Carola Company of Canada Limited was incorporated in 1916 "to manufacture phonographs".

Talking Machine World, December 1916, p. 19: "The Carola Co., of Canada, Ltd., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $40,000 by Warren K. Cook, Herman R. Peterson and Frank J. Foley, all of Toronto, Ont., to manufacture phonographs, etc."

Canadian Furniture World and the Undertaker, December 1916, p. 40: "The Carola Co. of Canada, Ltd. has been incorporated with capital of $40,000, to manufacture talking machines. The head office of the company is to be at Toronto, and the provisional directors are W.K. Cook, H.R. Peterson, F.J. Foley and D.J. Coffey." Talking Machine World, May 1917, p. 42: "WINNIPEG, MAN., May 2. - The Dominion Sewing Machine Co., 80-82 Lombard Street, are exclusive sales agents for the Viola, a "made in Canada" product, and the Carola Western Sales Co., 15 Paris Arcade, are handling the Carola in the Western Province."

After disappearing from the market for several years, the "new" Carola, which looked identical to the original Carola, was introduced by the same Cleveland company under different management in 1922 and advertised through 1923.