History%2520of%2520the%2520Victor%2520Phonograph.htm

On August 22, 1906, the first Victor Victrola was manufactured. From the article:

"The foundation of the Victor Talking Machine Company goes back to the late 1880's, when a creative entrepreneur named Emile Berliner invented the mass-producible flat phonograph record. Edison had invented the cylinder phonograph in 1877, but there was no practical way to mass-duplicate cylinders at that time. The flat disc design allowed copies to be made in the manner of a printing press. The story is complicated, but Berliner asked Eldridge Johnson, the owner of a small machine shop in Camden, New Jersey, to assist him in developing and manufacturing a low-cost spring wound motor for his disc phonograph. Following a complex series of patent infringements, legal wrangling and lawsuits, Berliner was severely restricted from selling his products in the USA, and subsequently moved to Canada. After the dust cleared and following some legal reorganization, The Victor Talking Machine Company was officially founded by Johnson in 1901. It quickly became a major player in the rapidly growing phonograph market. From his experiences with Berliner, Johnson had already learned a great deal about the emerging home entertainment market.

Johnson (and his growing staff) made several improvements to the phonograph in those early years, including a tapered tonearm, improved soundboxes and quieter, more stable running spring motors. The phonograph market grew significantly, and due to a creative and well-funded advertising campaign, Victor's sales steadily increased. Johnson cleverly arranged to have renown opera stars and musicians endorse his products, which spurred additional sales at an advertising cost of almost 50% of the company's total profit. However, increased competition from other manufacturers and ongoing objections to the huge and ungainly phonograph horns limited Victor's market. At that time, all manufacturers used a large external horn to "amplify" the playback sound. While this system worked quite effectively, the stark horn tended to dominate the average parlor, and many people felt that it created an unsightly appearance. To make matters worse, the horn was prone to being bumped or damaged (picture at left). In addition, Victor's profits were continually threatened due to the the massive numbers of lawsuits filed by competitors, which became a constant battle in the phonograph business during the first decade of the 20th Century. Victor won most suits and was able to survive (in no small part due to some very expensive legal representation). Sustaining a strong profit through the fierce competition and legal turmoil was certainly a challenge though, as most phonographs were essentially similar in appearance and function. Around 1905, Victor began to experiment with a novel idea to make the phonograph more acceptable and convenient. The horn was folded downward into a large floor standing cabinet, so that the horn opening was below the turntable. Two doors were used to cover the opening. This concept had an added advantage in that the doors acted as a crude but effective "volume control"; when they were open, the sound was loud, when they were closed, the volume was reduced.

This idea was quickly patented, and the copyrighted name "Victrola" was given to this new invention. The term Victrola thus applies ONLY to internal horn phonographs made by the Victor Talking Machine Company, and is not a generic term for all old phonographs. The first internal horn phonograph, initially designated as The Victor-Victrola, was marketed in 1906. Since Victor did not have sufficient manufacturing facilities to produce the large cabinet, the Pooley Furniture Company of Philadelphia was contracted as a cabinet supplier. The machine was intended for sale for wealthy customers, as the initial sale price was a lofty $200 (the most expensive Victor with an external horn sold for half that price). In spite of the cost, the machine sold briskly, and Victor knew it had an immediate success on its hands."