Wind up gramophone

About the sound

Composer: Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Song: March of the Little Lead Soldiers (composed in 1887)
78 RPM record released by the label “His Master´s Voice” in 1936.
Playing on this record is the “Boston Promenade Orchestra”.
Record player: brand “Sonata” manufactured in the mid-1950s. This a portable wind up gramophone.
Before the modern vinyl record most records were made out of shellac. Vinyl was introduced in the 1930s but didn’t became a standard for records until the 1950s. Shellac was a material the broke quite easily. The 78 RPM also had a short playing time leaving little room for longer pieces of music. 45 and 33 RPM replaced the 78 record which opened up for much longer recordings.
The record player used in this recording is a wind up gramophone. This a mechanic device that you have to wind up when you want to play a record. The record needle could be used only once or twice before you had to change it.
Recording och photography by Fredrik Johansson
Thanks to Ronny Hagberg for playing his machine.