Timeline of the Victor Phonograph Company
1900
Eldridge Johnson purchased the Berliner Gramophone Company after Berliner lost a legal battle over rights to manufacture flat-disc gramophones; Johnson formed the Consolidated Talking Machine Company.
1901
Johnson reorganized Consolidated Talking Machine and called the new venture The Victor Talking Machine Company.
Victor $3, Type A, Type B, Type C, Monarch, and Monarch Deluxe models were introduced.
Victor sold 7,570 phonographs during the year.
1902
Victor introduced the “Rigid Arm” tone arm concept, which allowed the arm to pivot independently from the horn.
Victor Monarch Jr., Monarch Special, Type P, Royal, Victor II, Victor III and Victor IV models were introduced.
1903
Victor introduced Type D, Type Z, Victor I models.
Initial sketches of an internal horn phonograph design appeared, eventually leading to production of the Victrola.
1904
Victor introduced the deluxe gold-trimmed Victor VI model, selling for $100.
A tapering tone arm debuted on certain models.
1905
Victor sold 65,591 phonographs during the year.
1906
The pneumatic-powered Victor Auxetophone, introduced in May, sold for $500.
The Victrola, the first internal horn phonograph, was introduced and became an instant success.
1907
Victor began transitioning manufacture of Victrola cabinets to its Camden plant.
The “domed lid” was introduced on the Victrola.
1908
Victor sold a record 107,000 phonographs.
1909
Victor introduced the first tabletop internal horn phonograph, the Victrola XII, which sold for $125, and the economy Monarch Jr. external horn phonograph, priced at $10.00.
Victor sales plummeted over 50 percent during the year due to the economic downturn.
1910
Victor focused design and production efforts on the internal horn phonograph and away from the external horn models.
1911
Victor introduced the Victrola IX, the first truly low-cost internal horn tabletop model, selling for $50.
Internal horn Victrola sales exceeded those of the external horn Victor phonographs for the first time.
Victor sales were at a record 125,000 for the year.
1912
Victor sales nearly doubled from the previous year, passing 252,000.
1913
Victor introduced the automatic brake feature on many models.
The Victor XXV “Schoolhouse” model was introduced.
1914
Victor introduced brown mahogany as a finish option.
1915
The elegant Victrola XVIII was introduced, selling for $300 in basic mahogany.
1917
Victor reached an all-time production high of 573,000 phonographs during the year.
1918
Wartime inflation resulted in a series of price increases for all Victor products.
Victor production partially converted to rifle components and biplane wings; phonograph production dropped over 40 percent from the previous year.
1919
Victor production converted back to phonographs, with annual production rising to 474,000 units.
Additional price increases were implemented due to inflation.
1920
Annual sales of Victor phonographs topped 560,000, the second-best year ever.
1921
Intense competition reduced sales by 30 percent for the year.
Victor offered its first “suitcase portable” model, the Victrola No. 50.
1922
Victor introduced a low-priced line of “flat-top” consoles, selling for $100, that were immediately successful. New phonograph competitors and the rise of radio sales increased to five percent.
1923
Victor launched a series of upper-medium-priced consoles; total Victor production levels remained stagnant at around 400,000 units per year.
1924
Victor sales continued to slide during the year, deteriorating to a low point during the usually busy Christmas season.
Radios were now the dominant Christmas entertainment gift.
1925
Victor licensed the electric recording process.
During the summer, Victor launched a “half-price” sale to unload its stock of old-style Victrolas in anticipation of the Orthophonic debut.
Four new Orthophonic Victrolas were introduced on November 2; the products were highly successful, since the fidelity and volume were many times greater than the earlier Victrolas, and costs ranged from $85 to $275.
Victor offered its first radio/phono combination console, the Alhambra I, selling for $350.00.
Victor sales dropped nearly 40 percent to an annual rate of 262,000 units.