Hear it Anywhere!

Anywhere, anytime
and as often as you want!
By Doug Boilesen 2018
To hear recorded sound anywhere,
anytime and as often as you wanted one was enjoying the essence
of the wonder of the phonograph and its revolution of recorded
sound. Ephemeral sound had been captured and its phonograph advertisements
presented seemingly limitless boundaries for where it could be
heard. Later ads would also expand its scope by promoting its
recorded voices as immortal.
The earliest models Columbia and
Edison home phonographs were designed with lids and cases like
earlier sewing machines and the similiarity between the sewing
machine and the phonograph was often noted in early descriptions
of the Phonograph. See Phonographia's Phonographs
and Sewing Machines for more about that connection.

1895 Columbia Graphophone
Model N

Edison Home Phonograph
Model A Circa 1901 (Courtesy of TechnoGallerie)
Hear it Anywhere!
The following ads are focused on
the promotion of the phonograph's portability and its "anywhere"
functionality.
Locations advertised as potential
listening spots for consumer phonographs included the home, on
the porch, in the garden; on the farm, at the summer home; in
the country, in the hills, in the mountains, by the sea; on vacation,
by the campfire, by the lake, by the fishing stream; on a boat,
canoe, houseboat, or yacht. Countless locations seemed to match
the phonograph's innumerable repertoires.
After the introduction of the Victrola
and the phonograph industry's other furniture models, the table
top and portable phonographs would continue to be seen in advertisements
showing the the 'anywhere' possibiities.

Hear it "right
on your porch among the cooling breezes..." - Munsey's Magazine,
1904

Music in Camp, Frank
Leslie's Popular Monthly, 1902


Have one at your summer
home for pleasant evenings, Country Life in America, 1905

"No matter where
you go, you can transport a veritable theatre with you." The
Metropolitan Magazine, 1906
"Ideal for
the Garden -- Houseboat -- or Yacht".

The Graphic
Summer Number, 1907

May 30, 1908 River
Parade with Gramophone in middle boat

The Edison
Phonograph Monthly, September 1907

The Phonogram, December 1900

The Edison Phonograph Monthly,
September 1907

"Home, Clubhouse,
Yacht, Camp..." The Talking Machine World, July 1908

"At home or in our summer retreat"
Summer Time is Victor Time, The Talking Machine World,
July 1910
The Phonograph
as an Adjunct to Railroad Travel
It is said that one of the
western railroad lines, running from Chicago to the coast,
has added a Phonographic equipment to its library and
observation coach. Records of the best orchestral and operatic
music now regale the passengers who care to listen, and while
speeding across the prairie at a mile-a-minute clip, one can
hear the greatest operatic stars in the world singing their
favorite numbers. Two performances are to be given daily,
at stated hours, the matinees consisting of lighter music,
the evening program of operatic selections. Travel in these
days of enterprise is becoming a delight instead of a nightmare.
- The New Phonogram, February
1910
Take a Victrola
with you... 1913

"Find a shaded
spot and listen with comfort..." The Talking Machine World,
July 1915

Columbia Grafonola
- "Portable, compact, easy to stow anywhere in the car."
The Automobile, June 1916

Portable
Grafonolas for Vacationists. The Talking
Machine World, July 1918

The Talking
Machine World, August 1923

Columbia Graphophone
at the campfire,
Country Life in America, 1915 (PM-2009A)

"Music for camp and cottage"
- Domestic Talking Machine, The Talking
Machine World July 1917

The Columbia Grafonola
"Music Wherever You Go" - The Ladies' Home Journal,
1920

"Take Music Wherever
You Go" The Ladies' Home Journal, 1919

RPPC May 9, 1919

The Columbia Grafonola
"Vacation Model" - The Delineator, 1920

Roof of an apartment
building with Victor Talking Machine and records, ca. 1919
"Living on Skyscraper,"
ca. 1919 Library
of Congress - Photo by Bain News Service, N.Y.C.

The Portola - Perfect
for Outings, The
Talking Machine World,
August 1920

"Good Music, Anywhere,
Anytime!" The Saturday Evening Post, 1923

Brilliantone
Needles for The Ideal Vacation, The Talking
Machine World, June 1923

The Sonora Portable - "a piece
of luggage that round the world travelers will covet."
The Talking Machine World,
April 15, 1927

"You must have
a Portable for your holidays this year" - Punch, 1929

Listening to music
in Russia, circa 1935
"Take music with
you on Your Vacation," RCA Victor, 1939

1962 Phillips Auto-Mignon
MK60 45 RPM Record Player designed for cars (radiomuseum.org)

Best Buy 2020 POS Display
for Sony Portable Speakers - Bring them anywhere!


For more advertisements
of portable phonographs see PhonoAds
- Portable Phonographs

Phonographia
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