The Berliner Gramophone

A Gallery of Rare Advertisements
(1896–1901)

A late 1896 advertisment for the Berliner hand-crank model. By the time this ad appeared,
the first spring-motor Gramophones were on the market, although they were still rather imperfect.

A hand-cranked model equipped with ear-tube adaptors, advertised in late 1897. By
this time the spring-motor models had been improved, and the price of the
obsolete hand-crank model (without horn) had been dropped by $5.

One of the earliest spring-powered Gramophones, advertised for the 1896 Christmas season.

French star Maurice Farkoa (born in Syria in 1864) was one of the few
international celebrities to record for Berliner. He recorded three takes
of his "Laughing Song" in Philadelphia on May 8, 1896, and four
additional selections probably at about the same time.

The Gramophone Company in Argentina: When this notice appeared in 1901,
the Gramophone Company controlled rights in South America, so the disc pictured
here is of English origin (note the "recording angel" trademark. When world rights
were later divided between the Victor Talking Machine Company and
Gramophone Company, the South American rights went to Victor.

The "new" Gramophone records in this 1900 ad were in fact not Berliner's, but Eldridge
R. Johnson's. Johnson took over the brand name after Berliner was enjoined from using
it by the courts. Johnson was soon haded a similar ruling, leading to his adoption of the
Victor trademark.