Victor is the largest manufacturer of phonographs in the world. From the registration of 190 1 to the acquisition of 1929 by RCA at the end of 29 years, more than 280 types of phonographs were designed and manufactured, and the output reached tens of millions. It can be said that it is unprecedented and no one dares to compare. During this period, the phonograph he designed and manufactured had a great influence on the whole industry, and he was a progressive leader.
Victor's early phonographs were mainly small speakers and big speakers, but later customers found some problems in the project. One of the reasons is hygiene, and dust is easy to deposit on the speaker, which affects the appearance. Secondly, it is the bare metal at home, which can't be in harmony with the home furnishings. These suggestions laid the foundation for Victor to produce cabinet floor-standing phonographs in the future.
The design sketch of the cabinet phonograph began as early as 1903. 1904, Victor designed and trial-produced several samples of cabinet phonographs, but many people have never seen them, including American phonograph experts. Because 1906 launched many improved versions or higher-grade phonographs in batches, these samples were eliminated until they disappeared. This cabinet phonograph was fortunate to be the gift of Empress Dowager Cixi on her 70th birthday (1904), which is why the earliest cabinet phonograph in the world can be preserved. This machine belongs to an unrecorded sample of Victor's first-generation cabinet phonograph. Later, the cabinet phonograph was modified again and again on its basis, and later models appeared one after another. This is the originator of Victor's cabinet phonograph. Now this cabinet phonograph has become Victor's rarest machine and the only one in the world. Being an orphan can be said to have created an era.
The advantages of cabinet phonograph include: the elegant and beautiful cabinet of the machine is added, and the front and both sides of the cabinet have beautiful curves and exquisite carvings. The top cover protects the delicate head and arms, the lattice stores records, and there is room for needles and accessories. It is easier to clean dust than a small phonograph.
There is a lock on the cupboard. Obviously, if the door is locked, children can't operate the expensive phonograph. It can be seen that the cabinet phonograph at that time was very expensive, and some phonographs produced later also installed locks on the doors.
1904 is a very unfortunate year for Victor Company, and it is also a year of great turning point. There were two fires this year, and this cabinet phonograph was put on the market between these two fires. On April 24th, a fire destroyed Victor's four-story red brick factory. At this time, they have no ability (equipment) to produce the main components of the cabinet. For example, the cabinet body was made by Puli Furniture Company in Philadelphia (this process lasted until 1907, and the top large-scale movement ordered from Switzerland and the singing arm were masterpieces of Colombian companies. Having said that, it is not difficult for Victor to understand that he used this singing arm on some machines in the 1920s.
Victor's diary simply records the first batch of cabinets that have not yet been listed? Many people, including American phonograph experts, have never seen it because it is extremely rare, because the only one preserved is 1904, which came to China and fell asleep for more than 100 years. Then 1904, a more serious fire broke out in the autumn, which razed Victor's factory to the ground and the information of this phonograph was reduced to ashes. In the next year or so, Victor had to rebuild their factory until 1906 launched the pneumatic AUXETOPHONE cabinet phonograph in May and the first household VV-XVI on August 9.
The cabinet of this machine is used for putting records, and the purpose of semi-circular opening is to facilitate taking and putting records, so how big is the opening? The opening of this machine is very small, which makes it inconvenient to take and play records. In fact, it is very unscientific. Because of the lack of initial design and experience (it was very advanced at that time), the cabinets produced after 1906 were all improved, and the lattice of a phonograph was semi-circular with a large opening. After 1906, I have never seen a small opening in the lattice of the phonograph, which is a feature of the times.
The following figure (left) shows the improved semi-circular grid layer with large opening. Compared with this machine (on the right), it is much more convenient to take and play records, which is an improvement.
As we all know, Swiss watches are civilized in the world, not to mention the movement that makes phonographs. The movement is the power heart of the cabinet, and how to match it is very important. When a fire destroyed Victor's factory, it was reasonable and wise to order Swiss movements for this cabinet. Although it has been used for hundreds of years, the movement is still intact, running very smoothly and making little noise. At close range, the gear wear is very small, unlike other movements that have been wobbling for decades, which is enough to show Switzerland's superb technology and excellent materials. As you can see, Victor chose the movement after careful consideration.
This movement is Swiss THORENS top-class double clockwork, which can play four records at a time. THORENS started making music boxes in 1883. Due to the early start, the movement produced is very precise, and many phonograph manufacturers around the world have bought THORENS switchboards or movements and accessories to assemble machines. During this period, the phonograph market was stable, which can be said to be in short supply. Until the eve of World War I, especially some patents of Victor, Edison and Columbia companies expired, that is to say, other companies could produce their own phonographs without paying expensive patent fees. Many phonograph manufacturers have appeared all over the world. They used to make furniture and pianos.
Especially in the United States, there are 263 phonograph manufacturers from 19 16 to 1923, not including Victor, Edison and Colombia. The phonograph soon entered the era of price competition, so many phonographs were put on the market at once, and the market was saturated, forming price competition. Especially in the early 1920s, overproduction and the Great Depression made the phonograph market worse, and many companies were forced to stop production and close down. Even Victor's company has been greatly affected, and the machines can't be sold, so it can only be sold at a reduced price. Then Victor constantly introduced new products and high-end machines to attract high-end customers, and achieved good results.
THORENS had to introduce a low-cost movement to meet the needs of the low-end market, which is why we later saw a large number of cassette phonographs produced in Switzerland or assembled in China. In the 1920s, many foreign companies in China bought back the movements and accessories of the Swiss phonograph, and then made wooden boxes in China, painted them, assembled them and put them on the market, which was also a great sight in China at that time.
The picture on the right shows the position of the crank jack of this phonograph. After hundreds of years of use, it has been rusty and left traces of history. Because this phonograph was produced in a specific historical period, it embodies some unreasonable laws, and these laws just show that Victor introduced the world's earliest cabinet phonograph in such a difficult environment. In these respects, this machine is quite precious.
The feet are engraved with exquisite patterns. There used to be four metal wheels, but now there are none. They were put into the melting pot during the Cultural Revolution, and made modest contributions while sacrificing themselves.
From 1903 to the beginning of 1908, Liang Cheng went to the United States, Peru, Cuba and other countries as the three ministers of the Qing Dynasty, and traveled to many countries for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. Liang Cheng, a native of Guangzhou, was educated and influenced by western culture in his early years, and he also liked the phonograph. During his stay in the United States, he did many important things beneficial to the country. 1904, Victor introduced the first batch of cabinet phonograph samples. Because they are not commercial machines, only some senior government officials in the United States have the opportunity to use such advanced phonographs. When American officials gave this phonograph to Liang Cheng, Liang Cheng gave this phonograph to Lafayette Empress Dowager Cixi as a gift for her 70th birthday.
According to Queen Elizabeth, "Cixi is much better than me. I am just a person who is not great or small. " 1904, Empress Dowager Cixi, who once regarded foreigners as wild animals, fell in love with western circus, waltz and photography. During this time, ladies-in-waiting often heard the melodious waltz coming from Cixi's bedroom, which was the sound made by her huge foreign phonograph. On one occasion, Empress Dowager Cixi specially invited two princesses, De Ling and Rong Ling, to waltz at lunch. She narrowed her eyes and watched intently. When they finished dancing, Cixi said happily that it was a beautiful dance. Don't you feel dizzy if you keep going in circles like this?
According to Memoirs of Princess De Ling, Empress Dowager Cixi said to us, "I dance while eating!" We turned the whole spectrum to find a waltz that suits us, and most of the others are China ditties.