Category Archives: Phonograph History

1958 Portable Phonograph

1958SeptEEThe young woman shown here on the cover of the September 1958 issue of Electronics Illustrated is listening wistfully to some music courtesy of the portable phonograph she constructed according to the plans contained in that issue.

She was able to put the project together in just a few hours, and it allowed her to listen to music wherever she pleased, thanks to the fact that the set ran entirely on batteries. Both the motor (three speeds–45, 33, and 16 RPM) and the amplifier were powered by four flashlight batteries, and the completed phonograph was no larger than a small overnight bag, light enough for a child to carry.

The circuit consisted of two CK722 transistors, as well as a 2N255 mounted on a heatsink, which provided enough power to drive the speaker. Volume was said to be adequate for dancing and mood music, although the article pointed out that it was not a high fidelity instrument.

1958SeptEE2

While there’s no way of knowing for sure, it’s likely that she is being entertained by a former Vice President of the United States.  Topping the charts that month was “It’s All In The Game” performed by Tommy Edwards, which you can listen to in the video below.

Chas G Dawes-H&E.jpg

Charles Dawes. Wikipedia image.

The melody of that song, originally unimaginatively entitled “Melody in A Major,” was composed in 1911 by Charles G. Dawes, who went on to become Vice President under Calvin Coolidge and earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925.  Under President Hoover, Dawes served as ambassador to the United Kingdom.  The song has the distinction of being the only number one single to have been composed by a Vice President of the United States.  The Wikipedia entry for the song incorrectly states that the song is the only one to have been composed by a Nobel laureate, but the Dawes biography points out that this distinction is now shared with Bob Dylan.  Dawes shares with Sonny Bono the distinction of being the only members of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives to be credited with a number one hit.

In addition to being a banker, composer, diplomat, soldier, and politician, Dawes was a rather prolific author, as can be seen at his Amazon author page.  A 2016 edition of his Journal of the Great War is still available.



1958 Personal Stereo & Simple TImer

1958SepPE1

Maybe it’s just our imagination, but the girl in this photo from the September 1958 issue of Popular Electronics looks just a bit disappointed. She was told that she was going to have the opportunity to listen to a personal stereo player, not long after the concept of stereophonic music had been introduced to the public, and a full four decades before the Sony Walkman hit the market and made the concept of “personal stereo player” familiar. Instead, she’s listening to the phonograph through a set of crystal set headphones, thanks to this simple project shown in the magazine.

1958SepPE2She probably did have to admit, though, that it was a clever idea. As the magazine pointed out: “If you are anxious to try the new stereo records, there’s no need to wait until you can acquire a two-channel audio amplifier and a pair of speaker systems.” Instead, the ceramic stereo phono cartridge was hooked directly to the crystal earphones. As with a crystal set, the circuit was entirely self-powered, and didn’t require any amplification. According to the magazine, the set was useful as a demonstrator for entertaining friends or for listening without disturbing others. It also pointed out that public libraries and record stores could use a similar setup.

For listening to mono records, the circuit included a switch which put the two earphones in parallel.

This wasn’t the only extremely simple circuit included in the magazine. The issue also included the timer circuit shown below, which was said to be good for measuring 5-50 seconds, depending on the setting of R1. The timer worked by charging up the large capacitor with a 9 volt battery. After being fully charged, the capacitor discharged through the solenoid of a sensitive relay. When the capacitor discharged sufficiently, the normally-closed relay disengaged, setting off whatever alarm was desired.

1958SepPE3



1918 Nightingale Phonograph

1918JuneTalkingMachineWorldShown here is an ad for phonographs from the Nightingale Mfg. Co. of 422-26 Armour Street, Chicago.  The ad, which appeared a hundred years ago this month in the June 1918 issue of Talking Machine World, describes the Nightingale as “the highest quality machine offered to the American public.”

But despite the laudatory description, Nightingale apparently never caught on. It is relegated to this listing of hundreds of “off brand” phonographs of the era.

There is a collection of a set of photos of a nicely preserved Nightingale phonograph at this link.  The nameplate on this phonograph indicates that the Nightingale was manufactured by H.B. Wolper & Co.  Assuming it’s the same H.B. Wolper, one of the principals caught the ire of the Federal Trade Commission a few years later regarding the way mail-order groceries were advertised.



1943 Top Ten

1943Mar29BC

Here are the top ten songs of the week 75 years ago, according to the March 29, 1943, issue of Broadcasting magazine.  For your listening pleasure, here are links to the songs:

 



Brox Sisters

File:BroxSistersRadioTeddyBear.jpgShown here in the mid-1920s are the Brox Sisters tuning in to some program on their radio.

The Brox Sisters, Patricia, Bobbe, and Loryane, (left to right in the photo)  grew up in Tennessee and began touring the U.S. and Canada on the Vaudeville circuit in the 1910’s, and at the start of the 1920’s, they moved to Broadway, where they performed in Irving Berlin’s Music Box Revue from 1921 to 1924.  They also appeared on stage with the Marx Brothers and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927.  They also appeared in a number of movies, both shorts and feature films, in the 1930’s.

The sisters can be heard in this 1929 recording of Singing In The Rain:



1944 Toy Phonographs

1944SearsToyPhonoI was a little bit surprised to see these phonographs for sale in a wartime catalog, but they are shown here in the 1944 Sears Christmas catalog.

They’re surprising for a couple of reasons.  First, they’re an interesting juxtaposition of an acoustic phonograph with an electric motor.  I assumed that acoustic phonographs were wind-up models, and that electronic phonographs had an electric motor.  But there’s no reason why there can’t be some overlap..

But I was more surprised to see phonographs for sale, despite the fact that the manufacture of phonographs had ended by order of the War Production Board (WPB) on April 22, 1942.  It’s unlikely that there was much old stock left in the Sears warehouse at that point (although it’s not at all unlikely that there were electric phonograph motors left over when the ban went into effect).

Interestingly, these are not being sold as phonographs.  They are being sold as toy phonographs.  I’m not aware that the WPB made an exception for acoustic phonographs.  But apparently, they did make an exception for toy phonographs.

The model on the right looks like a toy, especially with the decorations.  But the model on the left doesn’t really look like a toy.  It looks more like just a low-end portable phonograph.  I suspect that more than a few were sold, not for the kids, but because it was the only new phonograph people were able to buy.

The video below shows a similar instrument manufactured, surprisingly, as late as 1974:



1917 Stewart Phonograph

1917DecTalkingMachineThis ad directed at dealers appeared a hundred years ago this month in the December 1917 issue of Talking Machine magazine.  It’s for a relatively inexpensive compact phonograph from the Stewart Phonograph Corp. of 327 Wells Street, Chicago.

According to the ad, thousands of them would “be sent to the boys in the Army and Navy.  It is most suitable as a gift for Uncle Sam’s fighting men.  It is easy to see that large numbers will be sold.”  Of course, those fighting men would need the optional carrying case, turning it into the “Military Special” for a total price of $11.

It turns out that the Steward Phonograph Corporation ceased business in the United States in about 1920, but most of the assets were sold to a Canadian subsidiary, which continued production of an identical unit.  It also turns out that the proprietor of the company was John Stewart, who later became one of the principals of Stewart-Warner radio.

References

 



Nipper Goes to War: 1917

1917Nov26PGHWith the nation at war, the Victor Talking Machine Company was doing its patriotic duty by cranking out phonographs and records.  This ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Press a hundred years ago today, November 26, 1917.