In addition to its extensive audiovisual and print collections, the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound also maintains a collection of audio equipment that highlights the development of playback and recording since the turn of the 20th century. At the center of this collection is a magnificent set of historic phonographs, ranging from a 1901 Edison Home A cylinder phonograph to a 1926 Victrola Credenza.

These machines practically demonstrate the rapid changes in audio playback formats and machinery that occurred during the first quarter of the 20th century. 

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Abraham Tewolde, the Archive's Stanford University Libraries 1st-generation intern this summer, details and images of notable examples from this collection, along with demonstration videos, are now available online via the Archive's website. Further phonographs and other later playback machines will be added to this intial offering in the coming months.