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by Erica Lome, Ph.D.

f you were to stroll into an Urban sound vibrations. Edison patented his device, but it was not long before
Outfitters today you might be competitors sold their own versions of the phonograph. Notable among
Isurprised to find portable turntables them was Emile Berliner’s 1895 Gramophone, which used a flat disc
enclosed in a purple velvet container rather than a cylinder. An early ancestor of the turntable, Berliner’s
alongside boxes of vinyl records gramophones were far more popular than Edison’s. Sound was
by contemporary artists. Now offering amplified through a large horn attached to the machine, making it
Bluetooth and other modern clearer than the faint impression of noise made by earlier phonographs.
amenities, modern record players Similarly, gramophone records (made of hard rubber, and later of
promise to provide “analog music shellac) were easier to produce and could be sold to the mass market.
the encore it deserves.” Designed in
pastiche styles that evoke 1920s
gramophones or 1940s radio cabinets,
record players are increasingly
popular among a new generation of
consumers.
While the retro appeal of record
players has inspired people to return to
analog modes of playing music, genuine
vintage record players and turntables have
Thomas Edison with his lagged behind as collectibles. Even so, people
second phonograph, purchasing LPs might wish to know a little bit
photographed by Mathew about this underrated technology, and how it
Brady in Washington, evolved to make music an everyday experience
April 1878 for people all over the world.

Components
A phonograph parlor, circa 1890s. photo: the National Park Service
Record players traditionally consist of a circular turntable that holds
a record in place with a rod installed at the center. When operational,
the record turns via a belt drive or electric motors. Cut into the record The popularity of gramophones prompted the merger between
are micro-grooves which are traced by a diamond-tipped needle. Berliner and fellow inventor Eldridge Johnson in 1901. The Victor
Suspended over the turntable by long metal arm, the tip of the needle Talking Machine Company, as it was called, quickly began innovating
reads sound vibrations created by the uneven grooves as it gradually ways to streamline the design for the home. Previously, most people
spirals inwards from the outer rim of the record. The vibrations travel listened to recorded music at phonograph parlors. These parlors provided
from the tip of the needle along the customers with a device that played music through stethoscope-like
arm to a cartridge which converts headphones for a nickel – a curious mix of the modern day jukebox and
them into electric signals. These personal mp3 player. Johnson and Berliner modified the form of the
signals are amplified and returned to gramophone to make it more compact: lowering the horn and placing
the speakers. While the design of the entire turntable inside a cabinet. The Victrola made its debut in
records players have changed 1906 and dominated the market. People enjoyed the design of these
throughout the years, these compo- cabinets, which made the record player look more like a piece of
nents have remained essential. furniture than a state-of-the-art machine. Modern day collectors should
note that gramophones
Record Players: with the external horns
Then and Now (which many found so
unsightly at the turn of
The ability to capture and play the century) remain the
sound dates back to the mid-1800s, rarest and most expen-
as scientists and inventors tinkered sive on the market.
with telegraphs and Morse code Correspondingly,
signals to produce better ways to furniture designers in
communicate across distances. places like Grand
Thomas Edison invented the phono- Rapids soon began
graph in 1877, which reproduced Drawing for a Phonograph, manufacturing phono-
recorded sound using tinfoil 05/18/1880. This is the printed patent graph cabinets for
wrapped around a cylinder, with a drawing for a phonograph invented by customers. Nicer models
stylus producing grooves in the foil Thomas A. Edison. included better wood Advertisement for a Herzog Victrola
linked to a diaphragm responding to From the National Archives. and hardware, and phonograph cabinet, circa 1918.
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