The gramophone fast became a familiar sight in many homes. No longer limited to rich households, lower prices made Thomas Edison’s invention affordable to the general public.

The replacement of the old expensive cylinders for more convenient and less costly sound records that are played on a rotating turntable also made the machine popular. In fact, since the gramophone’s invention in 1877, it has changed extensively. The horn which was used to magnify the record’s sound, became no longer necessary, as it was replaced by a tone-arm which opened into a metal shell and conducted the sound.

The gramophones no longer were housed in large wooden cabinets, they became lightweight and could be transported from place to place.