Victor Talking Machine - World's Largest Orthophonic?

[Edisone]

The occasion pictured in the book was the opening of the (later named) Benjamin Franklin Bridge

[Henry]

The occasion pictured in the book was the opening of the (later named) Benjamin Franklin Bridge

The photo does not show the occasion of the opening of the bridge. The Delaware River Bridge (later known as the Ben Franklin, to distinguish it from the other bridges across the Delaware in and around Phila. which opened later on) opened in July 1926, so the photo must be later as it shows RCA Victor on the roof sign (RCA bought Victor in 1929, IIRC). The rapid transit right-of-way shown in the photograph currently is the eastbound track of the PATCO's Lindenwold High Speed Line, but it was originally the Bridge Line between Phila. and Camden, which opened in 1936. Notice that there is no trackage on the roadbed in the photo, which dates the photo to the period between 1929 and 1932, when construction of the original rail line commenced.

[Edisone]

Yes, "THE OCCASION pictured in the book" is the opening of the bridge. I did not write 'the picture of the Victrola is from 1926". Look at the entire page, please. Click the link in Ortho-Fan's post to see the whole page; here it is, again - http://tinyurl.com/yz46lx3

The second photo explains clearly that they're talking about the opening of that bridge during the first week of July 1926.

Obviously, that first photo shows what the caption mentioned - the Victrola on the roof "erected for the occasion" (that being the bridge's opening), which "remained perched atop the company's building at Front and Pearl Steets in Camden after the opening event..etc" .

[Henry]

Yes, what you said is true, and what I said is true. I was talking only about the photograph of the building and bridge, and I reiterate: RCA acquired Victor in 1929 (see http://www.davidsarnoff.org/vtm-appendix05.html), so obviously the photo cannot date from earlier than 1929, nor later than 1936 when the trains began running. Rails could have been installed on that right-of-way beginning in 1932 and ending in 1936, but exactly when I can't say. For the history of rapid transit on the bridge, see Gerry Williams, "Trains, Trolleys, and Transit: a Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit" (Piscataway, NJ: Railpace Company, Inc., 1998, p. 99f). In general, I have found historical accuracy in Arcadia publications to be less than reliable, and editorial standards lacking. My sole concern here is the probable date of the photograph; had I been the editor, I would have made it clear that the photo was taken at a later date than 1926, because the context certainly suggests otherwise.

[Silvertone]

The following pictures from the March 1930 Spanish edition of the Voice of the Victor show the location of the big Auditorium Orthophonic. It appears to be on the top of Building No. 7, which was described as a warehouse/shipping building.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

This is a great picture of the Victor compound. I have always wanted to see a copy of the Voice of the Victor, but they seem to be unbelievably rare!

Jim

[Energ15]

It seems like BIG is everything! I saw something similar to this except that what I saw was a giant Philco radio that actually worked!

[OrthoFan]

It seems like BIG is everything! I saw something similar to this except that what I saw was a giant Philco radio that actually worked!

Interesting. There's a reference to a giant Philco radio on this page which measured 16 feet high, 8 feet wide and 5 feet deep. --
http://www.tuberadioland.com/philco95_main.html

Now all we need is a photo....
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Silvertone:

Thanks so much for posting that! It really shows the Victrola's position in proximity to the other buildings in the complex. (I wonder if the drawing was based on an aerial photograph?)

This morning, I sent an email to the Johnson Victrola Museum c/o the Dover Museums Site Supervisor concerning any information they may have about the "Giant Victrola" in their archives. I received a reply today that my request has been forwarded to the "state curator," so if I find out anything, I'll post it on this string.

OF

[Silvertone]

I doubt that this was based upon an aerial photo. I think it was done by someone skilled perspective work. I believe that there is some artistic license involved, and the buildings pictured might not have been exactly in the positions indicated, but rather bunched together a bit to get as much in the picture as possible. Victor used this basic illustration for many years. As buildings were built or torn down, the illustration was updated. You will note that the Credenza, the bridge and the sign are rather crudely done compared to the rest of the picture. There is an earlier version of the picture in Look for the Dog, and even earlier examples were in Voice of the Victor and other publications. Dealers could order a copy to display in their store.

[Henry]

These kinds of images were the visual lies of their day, equivalent to Photoshop today. One sees it also in the ubiquitous "color" postcards of that era. Photographic retouching and enhancement have been part of photography since its beginnings. Just another reason not to trust images simply because they are "old" (or new, for that matter).