Name/Title
Phonograph Grimophone – The Singing TableEntry/Object ID
140Description
A Musical Automaton – An Early Jukebox in Table Form
(Belgium / Paris, ca. 1912)
This extraordinary phonograph was patented in 1912 by Belgian inventor Monsieur Grimo in Brussels and commercially introduced under the name “Tables Chantantes Grimophone” (Singing Tables Grimophone). That same year, the company Société Anonyme Belge des Tables Chantantes “Grimophone” was founded with a capital of 150,000 francs, as evidenced by a surviving share certificate.
The goal was to manufacture mechanical music tables for use in Parisian cafés and restaurants. Guests could select from twelve preloaded music pieces using a simple lever system. The chosen track number was clearly displayed on the tabletop—an early example of user-controlled public music selection.
The device itself is built as a heavy, round cast-iron table, featuring an internal cylinder carousel: twelve wax cylinders, each mounted in a metal sleeve, are rotated and mechanically advanced into the playback arm by an intricate gear-and-lever system. A spring-driven mechanism provides purely mechanical playback, with no electricity required.
Up to four people could listen simultaneously via personal listening tubes—offering a uniquely social experience of music in the early days of acoustic entertainment.
The 1912 patent covered the combination of a rotating sound carrier system, visible track selection display, and mechanical user interface in table form—a highly innovative concept for its time, merging sound technology with everyday furniture design.
Only five original examples of this music machine are known to survive worldwide. The table on display here is one of the best-preserved specimens and stands as a rare testament to the creative diversity of early sound reproduction devices.
By definition, this table also qualifies as one of the earliest jukeboxes in history.
