All Things Vintage: Victrola #AprilA2Z
Good-morning, kittens and dawgs! Thomas Edison was the first to invent a phonograph that not only recorded sound, but reproduce it (1877) unlike earlier inventors. It was a simple design and not very eye-catching, but it was the start of bigger things to come. Welcome to All Things Vintage!
Music has moved us through the years. In the 20s people played their favorite spins on a Victrola.
The Victrola history time line is interesting, as is the recording history. If you want a sample of how Victrola music, click here. My in-laws had a cabinet style phonograph that belonged to DH’s paternal grandparents. Unfortunately, my FIL sold it last year. It was a beautiful, too. What I wouldn’t give to own that old piece!
These ads are from the early 1920s, aren’t they neat?
Have you ever heard a Victrola in person? Do you know of anyone who has one? Would you like one for your home?
Applauds and special thanks to the incredible A2Z Team for hosting all the April fun!
Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Now, I invite you to hop with me in checking out some of the amazing A2Zers playing along this year and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for more All Things Vintage!
30 Comments
Myke Todd
I have never seen a Victrola in action, but would love to.
You might check out a CD that released last year, called “Orthophonic Joy.”
It is a various artist effort, commemorating The Bristol Sessions from 1927.
This two day period is often referred to as The Sonic Boom of Country Music.
Cathy Kennedy
Mike, thank you for the recommendation. I checked it out and for any curious minded individuals as myself then here’s a short video.
And, if you want to actually listen to samples of the CD Myke mention then I found it at Amazon, here. I really enjoyed learning this bit of history and it all started just a short 2-hours away from me.
Rorybore
My grandfather had one of these — it really is pretty cool to hear older music played on these. I rather like the sound. It goes with the emotional, raw vocals that a lot of the jazz and blues had.
Cathy Kennedy
Les, I imagine it had scratchy sound. Did it? It would be awesome to hear one for myself. Thanks for sharing your memories!
dcrelief
Hiya Cathy. It’s slow going at my place but I had to visit. Gee, my grandparents had on, and of course, children were not allowed to go near it.
Cathy Kennedy
Dixie, did your grandparents play their Victrola for you? That would be neat.
Patrick Weseman
I would love to have one for my home. Those are so cool.
Cathy Kennedy
Patrick, me, too! I think having a Victrola, especially one in a cabinet, would be a nice piece of furniture and great conversational topic for visitors.
celticmama36
David’s mother had a Victrola. It was beautiful. Yes, I would love to have one!
Cathy Kennedy
Suzanne, that’s awesome. Did you listen to it? Does she still have it? If so, ask her if she wants to part with it. I wish I had asked my father-in-law before he sold his. Major bummer!
celticmama36
My memory isn’t too clear anymore, but it seems like David played it for me once. I don’t know if she still has it or not. She pretty much left her old life behind when my father-in-law died and she got a new husband. I can’t really ask her anything. We don’t have a relationship these days. Her choice, not mine. I’m sorry.
Marie Moody
Oh my gosh, I love it, love it, love it. I must say I’m not totally ignorant to this machine. I have seen one in my lifetime, and I was in complete awe. I wanted to touch it so bad when my great aunt said, “Dolly, would you like to put a record on for me?” I almost fainted, and I did, and it was called the Woody Woodpecker Song! I’ll never forget it as long as I live. hahahahaha Thanks for sharing.
Cathy Kennedy
Marie, that’s a cute, fun story!
Jeffrey Scott
I think it would be cool to own one of those. Could you imagine playing a modern day record on that? I wonder if that would even work. Still, I love vintage and this would be so cool to won.
celticmama36
It would not work with modern day vinyl records. The arm of the Victrola was so heavy that it would cut through a vinyl record. My husband has tried it in the past. There were some older records that might have been vinyl that it would have worked on, but the only ones truly safe (for the record) to use on a Victrola were those made for the Victrola.
Cathy Kennedy
Suzanne, thanks for the clarification.
celticmama36
You’re welcome, Cathy. 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Jeffrey, it appears modern day vinyl recorders didn’t work on the Victrola. I think these are really cool things, but you know the sound quality can’t compare to good stereo systems of today.
greyzoned/angelsbark
I remember the dog in the Victrola ads. I always liked that.
The prices in the ad from the 1920s surprised me: it surprised me that they charged up to $1500 for a Victrola. That was a ton of money back then!
It’s a really interesting piece of history…
Michele at Angels Bark
Cathy Kennedy
Michele, I remember the dog, too. The price in the ad is shocking. I converted the money to current money and it came back $1500 being almost $18K. Whew, right?
HangryFork
I really don’t like having too much stuff around. While I think the Victrola is super cool, I’d skip on having it in my house. Less is more for me!
Shelly @ http://hangryfork.com
Cathy Kennedy
Shelly, sometimes less is better, but it would be totally cool to have one in your home! Thanks for stopping by. I’m running super late, but I’m determined to catch up. 😉
Arlee Bird
Love the ads, love the machines. Wouldn’t mind having one of the old Victrola’s for appearances, but I’ll stick to my stereo system for actual listening.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Cathy Kennedy
Lee, I’m with you. I’d rather stick with my stereo system for good sound quality over a piece of nostalgia for listening to music that is; having it for decoration is another issue altogether. 🙂
Birgit
I love old Victrolas and a good friend of mine has one with some old records as well. It’s so cool to listen to them on it.
Cathy Kennedy
Birgit, that would be really neat to hear!
Thomas Anderson
Hi, dear Cathy!
The Victrola is an excellent V choice. My family didn’t own one and I never had the chance to listen to one. I enjoyed reading these vintage print ads for the vintage music player. It shocked me to see that they ranged in price from $25 to $1,500! Even today $1,500 would be a considerable sum to play for a music playback system. The closest I got to the Victrola was owning some rare 78 rpm picture discs that had colorful illustrations embedded in the grooves on both sides.
Thank you very much, dear friend Cathy!
Cathy Kennedy
Tom, I thought the price range for a Victrola be quite wide. $1500 in the 20s was a lot of money. The US Inflation Calculator says this is about $18K today. Whew, that’s a lot of money! 78rmp? I’m not sure, if I’ve seen any of those or not. I recall the 45s and 33s, but I don’t remember the 78s. Now, I may saw one in my in-laws Victrola years ago, but if so there wasn’t anything memorable about them and I think they were just black disc. I presume they were vinyl, would I be right? I’m trying to catching with all who visited last month, but I sure do appreciate your faithfulness to visit me almost daily, my friend!
mike spain
It looks like a handsome machine. I wouldn’t mind one.
Cathy Kennedy
Mike, yes, it does. I would like to have one just for looks only. I know the sound quality isn’t all that good, but it would be totally cool to have a piece of music history on display.