Name/Title
Graphophone Type AK – Early Disc GraphophoneEntry/Object ID
125Description
Columbia Phonograph Company, New York & London
ca. 1902 | No serial numbers issued | Original price: $15.00
Historical Background
With the Graphophone Type AK, Columbia made its move from cylinders to disc records. It was one of the company’s very first commercial disc machines and represents an important transitional step between the cylinder Graphophones and the later disc Gramophones.
The AK was compact, inexpensive, and aimed at a wide audience looking for a simple machine to play the new shellac records. Priced at $15, it was affordable and a direct competitor to Berliner’s Gramophone.
Technical Features
Turntable: 7 inches (approx. 17.8 cm)
Motor: single-spring mechanism
Horn: approx. 16 inches (40 cm), mounted on a wooden arm
Traveling Arm: early version still made of wood, later replaced by aluminum in subsequent models
Soundbox: rigidly attached to the horn (no flexible neck)
Cabinet: oak case with decorative moulding and large “Disc Graphophone” banner
Significance
The Type AK was one of Columbia’s earliest experiments in the disc field. Its design still carried traces of the cylinder era, but introduced features suited for disc playback.
Of particular importance is the early wooden traveling arm, found only on the first production runs. Soon afterward, Columbia switched to aluminum for greater durability and precision.
Today, original Type AK Disc Graphophones are very rare. The example preserved in the Edisonium is fully original with horn, wooden arm, and turntable – an authentic witness to the pioneering days of disc record reproduction.
