Lyre type gramophone. Germany, ca. 1890

Gramophone "lyre type". Germany, ca. 1890.
Painted metal.
Wind up.
It works.
Exhibits wear consistent with age and use.
Measurements: 36 x 27 x 30 cm.

Antique gramophone of lyre type, so called because the base adopts the shape of that instrument.

The gramophone was the first sound recording and reproduction system that used the flat disc, unlike the phonograph that recorded on cylinders. It was also the most common device to reproduce recorded sound from the 1890s until the end of the 1980s. It was patented by Emile Berliner. The Berliner gramophone, like the record players developed later, consists of a turntable, an arm, a needle or pick and an amplifier. The traction is done manually by means of the crank located on the outside.