Victrola phonograph from the Sugg McDonald house: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A portable Victrola phonograph. The exterior of the phonograph is wood and has some chipping. The machine is a case that opens up on a hinge. The speaker is on the front outside of the phonograph. The interior of the phonograph is orange and contains the working parts of the machine. The case holds a yellow brown felt turntable, tone arm, support bracket, brake, motorboard lifting knob and screws, needle, crank, speed regulator and a soundbox. The soundbox reads: [Victrola 4 / Victor Talking Machine Co. / Camden, N.J. / U.S.A.] The crank snaps into a holder on the top of the interior. The Victor Victrola phonograph logo with the dog is also on the interior, top portion of the machine. Underneath the turntable, a metal plate reads: [VV2 30 25215]. There is also a card that reads: [4931 Inspected Part 18447 / Cabinet / Mach.Equip. / Elec. Equip.] The card has a black ink mark running through the Mach. Equip. line. There are numbers written in pencil in some of the fields of the card.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1927-1928
• Manufactured by: Victor Talking Machine Company, 1901 - 1929
• Owned by: Vernon Sugg McDonald, American, 1906 - 1982
• Type: phonographs
• Medium: wood with metal and plastic and felt
• Dimensions: H x W (Closed): 8 × 12 3/4 × 14 1/8 in. (20.3 × 32.4 × 35.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Open): 7 1/2 × 12 3/4 × 28 7/8 in. (19.1 × 32.4 × 73.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Open (slightly over 90 degrees)): 18 1/2 × 12 3/4 × 21 in. (47 × 32.4 × 53.3 cm)
• Place collected: Sugg McDonald House, Sonora, Tuolumne County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American West
• Topic: Black interiors
• Topic: Domestic life
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Recreation
• Object number: 2014.316.4.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Bob and Sherri Brennan in memory of Vernon Sugg McDonald
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.