Photo Ref: DB400 Courtesy of Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
Photo Ref: DB401 Courtesy of Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
Photo Ref: DB403 Courtesy of Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
Photo Ref: DB402 Courtesy of Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
The Tonomat Connection
The Inside Story of Tonomat By Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
I
am
the
daughter
of
Alfred
Josef
Diefenhardt
(1922
to1985).
My
Father,
together
with
Walther
Triefenbach
and
Norbert
Acker
were
the
founders
of
German
Jukebox
Manufacture
"Tonomat"
located
in
D-Neu-Isenburg,
near
Frankfort/Main.
When
this
firm
was
established
I
was
a
little
girl,
but
up
to
now
I
still
remember
my
father's
role
and
his
work
for
Tonomat
as
he
frequently
took
me
with
him
to
work.
I
well
remember
the
"Ditchburn
Organization"
who
ordered
1000
"Telematic"
Jukeboxes
from
Tonomat
in
1958,
one
of
the
biggest
orders
Tonomat
ever
received.
The
connections
between
the
two
firms
went
very
well
and
I
still
remember
some
visits
from
Norman
Ditchburn
to
Tonomat.
When
he
came
over,
he
was
also
our
private
guest
along
with his wife and children.
Alfred Josef Diefenhardt
The Tonomat T100
Outside the Tonomat factory entrance, Walter Triefenbach, Geoffrey Norman Ditchburn, and Norbert Acker
The Tonomat factory during the winter of 1957
To be Continued
By Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt
To
find
out
more
about
Tonomat
you
can
click
on
the
image
on the right to read the article published by Die Musikbox
In
my
Tonomat
collection
concerning
Blackpool
and
its
Ballrooms
in
the
50s.
The
first
two
pictures
show
Blackpool
coast
as it looked like in the 50s.
The
next
photo
shows
inside
in
a
ballroom,
but
its
location
in
Blackpool
I
do
not
know.
it
shows
ladies
and
gents
dancing
in
the
ballroom,
presumably
members
of
both
firms
Ditchburn
and
Tonomat
I’m
sure
that
the
photos
above
were
taken
on
the
same
day,
On
the
far
right
of
the
photo
below
you
can
see
Geoffrey
Norman
Ditchburn,
and
my
father
is
also
on
this
photo
but
you
can
only
see
the
lower
part
of
his
body
on
the
left
side
of
this
picture.
And
of
course
you
see
a
Telematic
T200
there too.
The
Photo
below
shows
three
gala-dressed
ladies
who
are
the
wives
of
the
three
Tonomat
founders.
From
left
to
right:
Klara
Triefenbach,
wife
of
Walther
Triefenbach.
in
the
middle,
Elli
Acker,
wife
of
Norbert
Acker
and
far
right
my
mother,
Irmgard (Diefenhardt).