The "Busy-Bee" was a Columbia Graphophone Model "Q" with an oversized mandrel. Made around 1904 exclusively for the O'Neill-James Co. of Chicago, the phonograph itself was given away as a premium. However, since the mandrel is slightly larger than normal, conventional Edison and Columbia cylinders cannot be played. Owners of the Busy-Bee were obliged to buy special Busy-Bee records, which were made by Columbia using old master molds. It was a very lucrative arrangement for Columbia and O'Neill-James, but the customer was stuck with a very limited selection of mediocre records which could not be used should they decide to upgrade to a more serious phonograph later. (The Busy-Bee name was inspired by Sherwin Bisbee, a partner in the company.)