VTLA, VV-VXI Victrola the Sixteenth (1906-1921)
VV-120 (1921-1922), VE-120 (1921-1922)
VV-111 (1922-1925), VE-111 (1922-1925)
Introduced in 1906, the Victrola was a smash hit for the Victor Talking Machine Company and was their flagship model for many years. The Victrola was the first record player to have the horn INSIDE the cabinet, which when presented as a finished product, was extremely stylish, attractive, convenient to the consumer. People liked the fact that a Victrola looked like a piece of furniture and had no “ugly” horn. From 1906 onwards, many other Victrola models were introduced, but the VV-XVI (known early on as VTLA) is known as the original Victrola model. In Victor advertising the model was known as “The instrument by which the value of all musical instruments is measured”.
The initial price of the Victrola was $200 ($5,705 in 2019), and for about three years, the VV-XVI cabinets were produced by the Pooley Furniture Company in Philadelphia before Victor took over cabinet production in 1909. The introduction of the domed-lid design in 1907 (as opposed to the early flat-lid design) was extremely important for Victrola sales, which with this modification, helped keep sales steady for almost 20 years. The great success of this model allowed for the Victor Company to expand their inventory, introducing a variety of new models over the next decades, such as the VV-XX, “Victrola the Twentieth”, and many others.
Over the years, many variations were introduced, with additional suffixes added to the nameplates, from “A” to “H”, crank arm positions changed, turntable brakes moved, speed controls, custom finishes, and electric motors.
After 1921, the Roman numeral naming system was changed, and therefore the VV-XVI became the VV-120. The selling price of the VV-120 in 1921 was $275 ($3,944 in 2019) and by 1922, the price was lowered to $225 ($3,378 in 2019).
Updates were made to the 120, and after being discontinued the model number changed again to the VV-111.