Product Review

The antique phonograph is the center of a beautiful, brilliant, and sometimes bizarre universe of accessories. The commercial development of the phonograph, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, inspired a host of adjunct technology, from fancifully-painted flower horns to record storage disguised as furniture. Here are gadgets any snake oil salesman would be proud of - objects that claimed to make the phonograph louder, softer, improve the tone, or remove the scratching of the needle. There are dazzling horns that call attention to the phonograph, or imposing cabinets that hide it completely. Each element of the talking machine, from its whirring spring motor to its polished woodwork, inspired bursts of inventive genius as brilliant and colorful as the nighttime sky on the Fourth of July. To aid the collector there is a guide to current values. Award winning authors Timothy C. Fabrizio and George F. Paul, in their sixth Schiffer book, take the reader on a lively tour of these utterly entertaining objects. The 555 color illustrations and engrossing captions introduce a multitude of artifacts not documented in the authors' previous works.