The Victor-Victrola Page

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

"The "VV-XVI" was the original internal-horn Victrola; officially introduced in 1906, it remained the Victrola flagship model for many years. Although it was originally advertised as "Victrola the Sixteenth" (XVI), the metal identification tag used a "VTLA" designation in the early years. This was the first commercial product to enclose the horn inside a stylish cabinet. Selling for a whopping $200.00, it became an immediate hit. At introduction, a standard production design had been settled on, which is understandably called the "Pooley" model (left). Early VTLA's were made for Victor by the Pooley Furniture Company of Philadelphia (using Victor's patented cabinet design and the mechanism from the external-horn Victor 6), but production was gradually transferred to Victor's growing woodworking facilities. The cabinet had an unusual curved top section, "L" shaped storage doors and a flat lid. Several minor hardware changes were made as production ramped-up. The flat-lid cabinet design (see History of the Victrola) made access to the turntable rather difficult. During the very early months of development, Victor experimented with several different cabinet designs, including a cabinet called the "Mertz", which had a very boxy look, but retained the flat-lid. The Mertz design is considered one of several early prototypes, and was never put into production. It is unclear as to the serial number of the first true production-version VTLA; serialization began at 501 for all models released after 1909, but the "starting point" for VTLA serialization is still not certain, since its release was several years earlier. A prototype VTLA (Mertz design) has turned up with serial number 499. As additional examples are discovered, it is likely that earlier production machines will be discovered.In early 1907, the VTLA adopted a patented domed-lid design, allowing the turntable to sit nearly flush with the top of the cabinet (right). The "L" shaped storage doors were retained. This design became a huge success with the buying public, and the dome design became the standard lid for most Victrolas for the next 20 years. Victor and Pooley shared production of these domed-lid models for a few years, but by 1909, Victor's factory took over all manufacture of Victrola cabinets. The demand for these models exceeded Victor's wildest dreams, and based on the public's response, new lower-priced internal-horn models were quickly introduced. In 1908, Victor introduced a super-deluxe VTLA model, advertised as "Victrola the Twentieth" (although this model was confusingly still tagged "VTLA"). This phonograph featured ornate carving (most versions had gold gilding covering the carving as well) and a unique "V" shaped mahogany veneer on the front doors (left). Selling for a whopping $300.00, this model was too expensive for the buying public, and it was discontinued in 1909. Unfortunately, "XX" production was intermixed with "XVI" models, and there is no unique dataplate identification to differentiate between the deluxe (XX) and standard (XVI) models. Thus, there is no clear way to determine how many XX's were made. Best current estimates are that less than 500 were produced. At present, the earliest existent documented XX is s/n 4453 and the latest one is s/n 8655. Of course, many standard VTLA's are intermixed within that number range.An "A" suffix was added in mid-1909, and the metal tag was changed to indicate "VV-XVI" shortly afterwards. A few months later, the suffix was updated to "B", and the ornate carving under the lid was removed, and the cabinet was widened slightly (right). The "flare" carving, which was carved on the sides of the L-doors, was moved to the cabinet's front side posts. The "Victor-Victrola" label under the lid was also changed at this time, now reading just "Victrola". The "C" suffix series of early 1910 first adopted the "tab" style brake (replacing the earlier bullet brake). A "D" suffix version was introduced in 1911, wherein some minor mechanical changes were made."