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Grammophone
Christian Wittmann
His Master’s Voice
The gramophone was invented in 1887 by Emile Berliner, an American of German origin. The main difference between the gramophone and Thomas Alva Edison’s phonograph was that the phonograph cylinders relied on vertical vibrations, while the gramophone discs were based on lateral vibrations. The recording process was also easier than for the phonograph from the very beginning. The process used wax-coated acid-resistant zinc plates that were etched after the recording was made. A copper negative of the original was made by galvanization and then used to make a large number of discs relatively easily. A disadvantage of this method was that an annoying background noise was often heard during playback, which initially constituted an obstacle to the success of the gramophone. This playback quality was later considerably improved by using wax plates for the recording, leading to an increase in the discs’ – and the gramophone’s – popularity. Edison also launched disc players on the market in 1912, using the vertical vibration technology of the cylinders, but these devices failed to prevail over the gramophone.
The gramophone was first launched on the market as a toy for children, manufactured under license by Kämmer & Reinhardt. The discs were driven by a hand-wheel, with an electric motor available as an option. It was only later that the conventional spring-driven motor became established, an adaptation from the then popular disc musical boxes (made by Polyphon, Symphonion and Kalliope).
The gramophone became increasingly popular from around 1900 on, gradually displacing the cylinder-driven phonograph. The design of the early gramophones was characterized by a usually wooden tonearm that carried the horn and the pickup. The horn shape was similar to that of a trumpet horn, although simple conical horns were also common. It was only later that the flared horn, made of individual metal strips, became popular. Wooden horns were the luxury end of the market, producing a sound that was far more natural than that from a metal horn.
Gramophones without a horn, where a rectangular wooden or metal horn was built into the box under the playing mechanism, were marketed from around 1910 on. They were made either as self-standing or smaller table-top devices and were intended to meet the aesthetic taste of people who did not want a large visible horn. Other models included coin-operated gramophones (for bars and restaurants), of which only a few have survived. Portable gramophones were also popular, and continued to be developed well into the age of electric record players. They are relatively compact with a built-in horn, the open lid also acting as an amplifier.
Probably the most famous trademark in the music industry – His Master’s Voice: a painting by the artist Francis Barraud – originally showed the dog Nipper listening to an Edison phonograph. Later, the phonograph was painted over with a gramophone and His Master’s Voice became the trademark of the Gramophone Company. The surviving discs are important documents of their era, a reflection of the musical taste of the time. However, there are not only recordings with famous orchestras and soloists, but also discs of sounds such as birdsong (created by specialist artists), steam locomotives or simply laughter. There were also spoken recordings of tales, poems and jokes, and it was even possible to buy complete language courses.