I have an old Victrola gently placed on a small table in the corner of my office, just out of the sunlight. I sometimes place my hand atop the fine old walnut case, feeling the smoothness and admiring the patina this Victrola has earned with the years. I believe it is a century old and as beautiful today as the day the original owner brought it home from the radio store in the 1920s.
When I inherited this Victrola, I found a small collection of original records in the case beneath, records that are in wonderful condition without scratches or breaks.
On occasion when I’m in a nostalgic moment, I will select a record from beneath my Victrola, wind the spring tightly, but carefully and not too much. Placing my selected record on the table I disengage the small lever while the century old turntable once again turns slowly. I grasp the arm with the ornate horn and place the needle on the rotating record and listen to the same songs my grandfather did.
As I write my story today, I am listening to “Valencia” by Paul Whiteman. Some of my other vintage records include “I’m Sitting On Top Of The World” by Al Jolson, “Always” by George Olsen, “Baby Face” by Jan Garber, “The Prisoner’s Song” by Vernon Dalhart and “Bye Bye Blackbird” by Gene Austin.
As the table turns, I place another old record on the Victrola and live for a few hours in the year 1926, imagining my grandfather sitting beside me in his rocking chair smoking his pipe and humming along.
The Victrola company was founded as a result of the design and further development of the spring motor for the gramophone by Emile Berliner. With this spring motor, Eldridge Johnson of Camden, N.J., established the Victrola Company. By 1906, Berliner’s Victrola Company advanced further with the Victrola XVI introducing another new milestone. The internal horn replaced the original and ornate exterior horns. The quality of the internal horn exceeded expectations and allowed for better quality sound with American’s embracing and purchasing Victrolas in record numbers.
As the years progressed, so did the overall quality of the Victrola models ranging from tabletop to large furniture pieces. It was during the mid-1920s with the introduction of the Orthophonic Victrola the public found greatly improved sound and acceptance by most American households. Nipper the Dog became the mascot and symbol for Victrola and could be found on billboards around the world. Victrola was indeed a survivor and returned again in the twenty first century with vintage styled turntables and advanced technology.
The Victrola was essential in bringing music into the home and by hiding the horn allowed for the device to blend into the home decor of the period.
As the afternoon concludes and the shadows grow long, I select one last record from beneath my Victrola. I place “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller and his Band. I am immediately transported back to the year 1941 and hum along with this tune. I think about the war years, the big bands and dancing. I think about a time before our advanced technology existed and about the simplicity of entertainment. An old Victrola playing a tune from the past.
I also think about my grandfather and the life he lived, the challenges and the hardships. Some simple pleasures but there was sadness too. I’m sorry his generation had to endure this sadness but grandfather lived a good life he enjoyed with his loving family and his Victrola too.
As my Victrola turntable slows and Glenn Miller and his Band conclude “In the Mood” one last time, I look across my office at the comfortable but empty chair. I imagine grandfather sitting there with a smile, another day concluded it is time to rest. Tomorrow will be here soon and there is work to do.