Victrola

The Victrola was a brand of phonograph sold by the Victor Talking Machine Company. The name Victrola became so popular that it was often used as a generic term for any record player, similar to how "Kleenex" is used for tissues. The first Victrola models were introduced in 1906 and were designed to be more aesthetically pleasing than earlier phonographs. Instead of having the horn attached externally, Victrolas featured an internal horn and a cabinet that could be opened to reveal the record and turntable. This made them look more like a piece of furniture and appealed to a wider audience.

Early Victrolas played recordings made on 78 rpm discs. The company was a major player in the early recording industry, signing many famous artists and producing a vast catalog of music. The distinctive sound of the Victrola, with its acoustic amplification through the internal horn, is a recognizable part of early recorded music history. The Victor Talking Machine Company was eventually bought by RCA in 1929, and the Victrola brand continued to be used for record players for many years, evolving with new technologies like electric playback and later, the introduction of microgroove LPs. The Victrola name is still in use today, primarily for retro-styled record players.