V is for Victrola

Following the introduction of Victor's Victrola, some manufacturers attempted to make phonograph cabinets functional, disguising phonographs as desks or tables, lamps and sideboards. As a useable piece of furniture such machines had the added advertising logic of being in a room regardless of the talking machine inside. But the Victrola wanted to be seen as its own entity with its own recognizable form. Like a Stradivarius, the phonograph didn't need to rationalize its existence. It would establish its own look and its own reputation and be valued in the home as a modern, musical entertainer.