GRAMOPHONE "BABY MONARCH," 1906

When Victor products were sold in Great Britain by the Gramophone Co. Ltd. (and its predecessor, Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd.) they were essentially the same as those offered in the USA -- in the instance of the "Baby Monarch, " however, a domestic Victor "I" became a heartbreaking charmer! The snappy green flower horn, and especially the nifty Nipper dog decal, made the Baby Monarch a joy to behold....More

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COLUMBIA GRAPHOPHONE TYPE "AB," 1901

This pretty package is all you need to enter one of the most fascinating areas of collecting -- the 5" diameter "Grand" cylinder records. Columbia pioneered the concept of a large-diameter cylinder back in 1898, and the public soon discovered that the claims for the new system were true-- incredible loudness and clarity could be obtained from the jumbo records. The "AB" was Columbia at its best-- a cabinet dripping with late-Victorian gingerbread, a mechanism which could simply and effectively play both the 5" "Grand" and the "regular" sized cylinders....More

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FRENCH PATHE "COQUET" PHONOGRAPH WITH GIRARD
"SYSTEME VERITE," 1903

In terms of "cwazy contwaptions," the Girard Système Verité (sees-tem ver-ee-tay) is high on the list. The amazing assortment of rods and wheels that you see before you was designed to improve the performance of an ordinary "Graphophone-based" cylinder talking machine. The French Girard company sold Pathé instruments by mail order, equipped with Girard's own specialized equipment, including the elongated horn you see here....More

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COLUMBIA VIVA TONAL PORTABLE PHONOGRAPH, 1927

This fancy portable, in leatherette case with stamped-in designs around the edges, was part of the late-1920s portable phonograph craze. It represented the best sound you could get in its day, employing Columbia's Viva Tonal system of reproduction....More

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