The Linguaphone Group was founded in 1901 by Jacques Roston, a translator and language teacher who emigrated from Poland, then part of Russia, at the turn of the century and set up in business in High Holborn, London.

The first Linguaphone courses, intended initially as classroom aids for language teachers, combined authentic native speech with the illustrated texts of the Rees Pictorial Language books. These Mr Roston acquired, together with the International Linguaphone Company and the Rees Linguaphone records, then on cylinders. By adding to the range of languages and skillfully promoting the distinctive Linguaphone name, Roston created a new and intriguing product of wide appeal both to the home-study hobbyist and the growing band of travellers to the continent and beyond.