The Operaphone Manufacturing Corporation of New York was established by John Fletcher, a professional musician and amateur inventor, in 1914 with George Thomas serving as company president.

[2] In March 1921 it was announced in the trade publication Talking Machine World that Operaphone would quit the record business.

[1] Subsequently, Harry Pace partnered with Fletcher to bring use of the Operaphone pressing facility to the new Black Swan Records.

Some use the narrow-cut process similar to Edison Diamond Discs, while others use the sapphire-ball cut of Pathé Records[4] which is to be expected as some of Operaphone's masters originated from that company.

[2] Operaphone issued popular material of the day, including sentimental ballads, comic songs, and various instrumental selections, fitting with the motto “Music for Everybody” which appeared on the labels.

[2] Despite an assertion that no serious operatic recordings were released on Operaphone,[1] the company did issue a few: the Prologue from Pagliacci, "O, du meine Abendstern" from Tannhäuser, and "The heart bowed down" from The Bohemian Girl by frequently-recorded English baritone Alan Turner (1870 - ?

Operaphone's most important serious vocal recordings were four sides by the American dramatic soprano Gertrude Rennyson (1875-1953), who had been prima donna with American impresario Henry W. Savage's "English Grand Opera Company" from 1903 to 1905 before going to Europe to sing leading roles at Brussels, Prague, Dresden, the Vienna Hofoper, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, plus the 1909 and 1911 seasons at Bayreuth, and had made only four other sides at Columbia in 1912;[6] her Operaphone selections included "Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly and "Elsa's Traum" from Lohengrin.