Aside from doing my own solitary listening to discover share-worthy songs, I have discovered that I am not alone in my pursuit of sounds from the past. There have been, and will be times that my research takes me out past the world-wide web, and simply places me out in the world. Such an encounter took place this past Sunday, when I had the great privilege of meeting with a fellow early 1900s music enthusiast. Being older than myself, it was not surprising that his collection was vast and varied. He had, in his possession, Victrolas from just after the turn of the 20th century, and 78 records from roughly the same period. This was an active demonstration, as the victrolas were not just for show. Before my eyes, they were hand-cranked, the needle was dropped, and I heard glorious, acoustic sound. While it had an unmistakable roughness about its edges, the core of the music was so satisfying it was difficult to care about the ravages time had wrought upon the records.
Pictured above is an Edison B250 from 1915. I was taken with the design on the front of the unit.
Next up is a Victor Victrola from 1910.
Lastly, a Victor Victrola 17, so named because it hails from the year 1917.
I hope that the images of these machines inspire your imaginations as they did mine. They were each beautiful in their own way. I would also like to thank their owner for allowing me to spend time with his collection, and take these pictures. I look forward to exploring other facets of early music preservation, and when I do, I’ll faithfully share them, right here.
Music Through the Mists of Time 