Hear it Anywhere!

Anywhere, anytime and as often as you want!

 

To hear sound anywhere, anytime and as often as you want was the essence of the wonder of phonograph and the revolution of recorded sound. Ephemeral sound had been captured and phonograph advertising would later declare that recorded voices are immortal. Victor used the phrase “Victor Supremacy” for decades and it was primarily meant to convey the supremacy of its technology and its recording artists. But it also was a claim of Triumph over the ephemeral - Supremacy over mortality - Preservation of culture for Posterity - “Art perpetuated for all time.”

The following ads are just a few of the examples of where the phonograph could be heard. Through the decades the reality of the "anywhere, anytime and as often as you want" continued to grow in scope and magnitude with recorded sounds now even going beyond planet Earth.

 

Hear it "right on your porch among the cooling breezes..." - Munsey's Magazine, 1904

 

 

Music in Camp, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1902

 

 

Have one at your summer home for pleasant evenings, Country Life in America, 1905

 

 

"No matter where you go, you can transport a veritable theatre with you." The Metropolitan Magazine, 1906

 

 

"Ideal for the Garden -- Houseboat -- or Yacht".

The Graphic Summer Number, 1907

 

 

May 30, 1908 River Parade with Gramophone in middle boat

 

 

The Edison Phonograph Monthly, September 1907

 

 

The Phonogram, December 1900

 

 


The Edison Phonograph Monthly, September 1907




"Home, Clubhouse, Yacht, Camp..." The Talking Machine World, July 1908

 

 

"At home or in our summer retreat" Summer Time is Victor Time, The Talking Machine World, July 1910

 

 

"Find a shaded spot and listen with comfort..." The Talking Machine World, July 1915

 

Columbia Grafonola - "Portable, compact, easy to stow anywhere in the car." The Automobile, June 1916

 

Portable Grafonolas for Vacationists. The Talking Machine World, July 1918

 

The Talking Machine World, August 1923

 

The Phonograph an Adjunct to Travel

It is said that one of the western railroad lines, running from Chicago to the coast, has added a Phonographic equipment to its library and observation coach. Records of the best orchestral and operatic music now regale the passengers who care to listen, and while speeding across the prairie at a mile-a-minute clip, one can hear the greatest operatic stars in the world singing their favorite numbers. Two performances are to be given daily, at stated hours, the matinees consisting of lighter music, the evening program of operatic selections. Travel in these days of enterprise is becoming a delight instead of a nightmare. - The New Phonogram, February 1910

 

Take a Victrola with you... 1913

 

 

Columbia Graphophone at the campfire, Country Life in America, 1915 (PM-2009A)

 



"Music for camp and cottage" - Domestic Talking Machine, The Talking Machine World July 1917

 


The Columbia Grafonola "Music Wherever You Go" - The Ladies' Home Journal, 1920


 

"Take Music Wherever You Go" The Ladies' Home Journal, 1919

 

 


RPPC May 9, 1919

 

The Columbia Grafonola "Vacation Model" - The Delineator, 1920

 

 

Roof of an apartment building with Victor Talking Machine and records, ca. 1919

"Living on Skyscraper," ca. 1919 Library of Congress - Photo by Bain News Service, N.Y.C.

 




The Portola - Perfect for Outings, The Talking Machine World, August 1920

 

"Good Music, Anywhere, Anytime!" The Saturday Evening Post, 1923

 

 

Brilliantone Needles for The Ideal Vacation, The Talking Machine World, June 1923

 

The Sonora Portable - "a piece of luggage that round the world travelers will covet."

The Talking Machine World, April 15, 1927

 

"You must have a Portable for your holidays this year" - Punch, 1929



Listening to music in Russia, circa 1935

 

"Take music with you on Your Vacation," RCA Victor, 1939

 

1962 Phillips Auto-Mignon MK60 45 RPM Record Player designed for cars (radiomuseum.org)





Best Buy 2020 POS Display for Sony Portable Speakers - Bring them anywhere!





 

For more advertisements of portable phonographs see PhonoAds - Portable Phonographs



 

 

Phonographia