>  "Right around 1940, I believe, a new jukebox name appeared: Rock-o-la.

I beg to differ: I don't know the derivation of Mr. Rockola's name, but
I understand the correct spelling for the jukebox is hyphenated, as in
"Rock-ola", and the pronunciation is with an accented 1st syllable, as in
"ROCK-o-la". (This is also confirmed by the information in a past thread
in alt\antiques\radio&phono.)

The name appears  at the bottom of an "instruction" plate inside the
front glass: "PRODUCT OF ROCK-OLA MFG. CORP., CHICAGO, ILL. U.S.A."

There are also several identification plates on the back which include
model number, patents (1923 through 1936), warnings, etc. which most
always list "ROCK-OLA MFG. CORP.", and on one paper notice, simply
"ROCK-OLA MFG."  This machine is the massive (heavy) wood case, amplifier
in base, and plays 16 different 78's by pushbutton, 5c per play:
nickles, dimes, or quarters.

As far as the date is concerned, what about my ca. 1938 jukebox (series
"B", Type RM16) model?  The _last_ of several patent dates on the machine
is Mar 31, 1936, so the company was certainly well-established prior to
the suggested date of 1940.  If someone knows more, chime in here!

Todd Augsburger¶
allmax@kenton.com