An interesting ad in Vogue Magazine, July 1897

[Cody K]

Full page ad on the back cover of Vogue Magazine, July 1897, regarding production and shipping updates, American Gramophone Company.

[Cody K]

(Sorry - NATIONAL Gramophone Co., obviously.)

[phonogfp]

Thanks very much for posting this, Cody!

Roland Gellatt quoted some of this ad copy in his 1955 book, The Fabulous Phonograph, but despite having hundreds of advertisements in my collection - including many Berliner ads - I've never seen this ad until now.

The importance of this particular ad is that it appears to advance the "known" date of the Improved Gramophone's introduction from August 1897 (when Johnson filed his patent) to al least July, or more probably June, since the ad had to have been submitted to Vogue in time for its July issue's printing.

The copy boasting the "new improved machine" with "the new Exhibition sound box" certainly suggests the appearance of the Improved Gramophone, but it should also be kept in mind that the wooden-cased lever-wind Berliners were also supplied with Exhibition sound boxes (NOTE: these were not the common later Victor Exhibition sound boxes, but the Clark-Johnson device which was marketed by Berliner under the same name.)

I sure wish National Gramophone had included a cut of the machine!

Thanks again,
George P.

[jboger]

Does "gramophone" here mean a disk player?

[phonogfp]

Does "gramophone" here mean a disk player?

Yes, absolutely.

George P.