Brunswick Stratford phonograph

By the time this attractive console phonograph was produced, the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company was a major force in the industry. They surpassed both Edison and Columbia in popularity. The attractive, well made cabinets and ability to play all disc records (including those from Pathé and Edison) were irresistible to the phonograph buying public in 1922 when this instrument was produced.

The Stratford model sold for the high price of $300 in either mahogany or American Walnut, as illustrated here. The electric motor featured on this example cost its original owner an additional $50. While many of today's collectors prefer upright style phonographs (due to their more antique appearance and relative greater ease of display), the console style of phonograph was far more popular in the 1920s, and this model represents a deluxe example of the style.