Name/Title
Graphophone Type Q – Second VersionEntry/Object ID
300Description
Graphophone Type Q – Second Version
Columbia Phonograph Company, New York & London, around 1904
Historical Background
The Type Q was Columbia’s most successful and widely distributed cylinder model. First introduced in 1897, it sold for only 5 dollars, making sound reproduction affordable for a broad audience. Within just a few years, over 250,000 units had been sold. Around 1904, the model received a facelift – represented here by the second version on display.
Technology and Features
New housing with a cast iron base (black lacquered with gold decorations) replacing the earlier plain stamped steel plate.
Replacement of the original reproducer with a larger Type Q D-Reproducer, offering improved sound quality.
Horn equipment: originally a 10-inch nickel-plated horn, later also a 14-inch aluminum horn.
Serial numbers were not consistently applied; estimated production of about 50,000–60,000 units per year.
Selling price: between $7.50 and $10.70 depending on configuration (with or without case, recorder, and horn).
Rarity and Significance
Although the Type Q was one of the “people’s phonographs” of its time, well-preserved examples of this second version are rare today. With its distinctive green-stained oak case, decorative emblems, and characteristic heart-shaped winding crank, it represents a key stage in the industrialization of talking machines: affordable, mass-produced, yet technically refined. The example on display at the Edisonium shows the classic second Q version in authentic configuration
