Columbia Regent

The Regent was the first of the Columbia Grafonolas styled to look like a regular piece of furniture. The Regent was available in mahogany, walnut or oak at a price of $200. The very earliest Regents had a lift-lid over the turntable, rather than the drawer shown here. In spite of the apparent convenience of combining a desk with a phonograph, this design was pure fantasy. The cabinet offered no traditional desk-like storage, and the tiny knee-hole made sitting at the desk very uncomfortable, if not impossible.