In this episode of Keeping Tempo we take a look at the Fairy Phonograph, made circa the 1920s. Invented by Roman R. Gonsett, a Canadian immigrant from the Ukraine, the Fairy Phonograph was a lamp and a phonograph that was patented in the United States. This lamp/phonograph was invented as a means of making "phonographs real works of art, appealing to the eye as well as the ear." It was manufactured by both the Fairy Phonograph Lamp Company and by the Endless Graph Company of Chicago. When the cover is placed over the turntable, the unit resembles a lamp. The base of the machine doubles as the horn of the phonograph while the upper component houses the electric motor that drove the record turntable.
MSU Libraries: http://lib.msstate.edu
Charles H. Templeton Business of Music Museum: http://lib.msstate.edu/templeton/index.php
Host: William Miller
Editor and Producer: Keegan Lindsey
Backbay Lounge by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3408-backbay-lounge
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/