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Model:Sonora Invincible Serial #: 190603 Year(s) Made: 1916 Original Cost: No. 1 $375. Mahogany (Special Order Cireassin or American Walnut $30 extra) Case/Cabinet Size: Width 24 inches, Height 52 inches, depth 24 inches Turntable: 12-Inch Reproducer/Sound-Box: Sonora, with swiveling arm assembly to play lateral and vertical cut discs. Motor: Extra Heavy, Triple Spring, Gold Plated, Swiss made Plays Nearly 45 Minutes or Fifteen 10 inch Records. Horn Dimensions: Internal Reproduction Parts: None Current Value: $800.00 (NFS) Interesting Facts: A brief history of the Sonora Invincible Phonograph with its famous Bulge sided Ornate Cabinet, and other unique Features. Sonora was founded in the early 19teens and offered this unique style of Cabinetry on its top of the line models such as the Supreme, Invincible, Grand, Elite, and Baby Grand. Each machine came with an Official Sonora Guarantee Certificate, which protected the Phonograph against any material defects for 1 year. Each certificate contained the facsimile signature of George Brightman, the President of Sonora, and on the reverse side was proudly listed all of the patents and their origins under which Sonora produced its phonographs. The Cabinets also had the Sonora Patented Record Storage just below the horn, as well as a handy pull out Storage drawer where you could keep a few more rcords. Sonora's Bulge sided Cabinets were made and patented by The Herzog Art Cabinet Co. of Saginaw Michigan, a Company which was started by John Herzog back around the turn of the last century and specialized in the manufacture of artistic furniture, Cabinets, and also made early Cylinder storage cabinets for the Then fledgling Phonograph Industry. It's most remembered design were these famous bulge sided cabinets which were offered by Sonora. Sonora later moved its production facilities to Saginaw in 1917, and two years later purchased the entire facilities owned and operated by John Herzog. Herzog was so proud and enamored to his bulge sided cabinet design, that he modeled the porch on his Home in Saginaw after it, and also had his Gardeners trim some of the huge hedges on his estate in that shape as well. The Sonora Co. continued its success into the 1920's but when with the great depression of 1929, and record and phonograph sales soon falling to but a small fraction of pre depression numbers, the Company went bankrupt in 1930.

Thanks NateO! I do believe more vintage stuff like this will come out of the woodwork. The vendor was from Wisconsin but the records came from California. So they had quite a trip to get to me. The small VV-VI was a pleasant surprise at a great price point. But I believe the generational change has made these not as coveted as they used to be. At this same flea market there were several portable electronic players. An Admiral portable with two stereo speakers doubling as the cover was $150. It was a tube unit so it would also need extensive recapping. And of course the changer would need rebuilding. The little Victrola being mechanical would be much easier for a Neanderthal black smith mechanic like me to understand!😜

Brilliant - thanks!

Beautiful presentation! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Apparently, it's ended: October 16, 2025 - February 8, 2026

Edison Firestone Phonograph model B serial #106983. It’s in rough shape but motor still winds up and spins. For parts or restoration. It was given to me by a freind. You can pick it up in Ormond Beach, FL.

I might be in Madrid in the fall. Until when will the exhibition be on? Rick

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These demos are great! Instructive, yet somehow whimsical. I think it's the subtle sound effects that I like. Nice job! George P.

A beautiful, educational, and entertaining display, Aurea! Congratulations! George P.

No mold

I have forty cylinders in wonderfull condition brown wax busy bee I am sorting them out matching boxes and lids all boxes are in excellent condition . I also have the player two horns and parts I will be looking to sell as soon as I get things sorted out I would like to be excepted in to this group I am still waiting

How often do we really get to see these tiny palm-sized gramophones the way they were meant to be experienced: unfolded, assembled, handled, and brought into use? As part of the Talking Machines exhibition project, I developed two short stop-motion films dedicated to two remarkable ultra-portable gramophones: the Swiss Mikiphone and the British Peter Pan. What interested me most while working with these machines was that they are almost impossible to fully understand when simply placed inside a display case. Their logic only really appears through movement: unfolding them, assembling them, fitting the parts together, and watching these miniature objects transform into fully functional talking machines. The films were conceived partly as visual studies of the machines themselves, and partly as demonstrations of how these extraordinarily compact gramophones were actually handled and brought into use. Folded Sound: Mikiphone https://youtu.be/pNXgZNug0Sw Folded Sound: Peter Pan https://youtu.be/kKmCGw87Wwo

After more than a year of work, I am very excited to finally share the virtual version of Talking Machines: The Art of Capturing Sound, the exhibition I curated at the Biblioteca Nacional de España (Spanish National Library) in Madrid. The exhibition brings together phonographs, gramophones, cylinders, records, advertisements, catalogs, and a wide range of historical sound objects from institutional and private collections, many rarely shown publicly. One of the main goals of the project was to move beyond the static museum display and try to recreate something closer to the real experience of these machines: how they sounded, how they were handled, how they transformed listening itself. The online version includes an interactive virtual tour, playable historical audio, detailed object information, and optional 3D/VR exploration. I thought many people here might especially enjoy it. Virtual exhibition: https://www.bne.es/es/visitanos/visitas-virtuales/maquinas-parlantes/visita.html

Thanks all! This is one machine I'm definitely proud to own. In fact, it may even be my favorite just because it's so unique. It was a lucky Facebook marketplace find, and I'm deeply indebted to some fellow collectors who helped get it to me!

That's a great find, especially with that original sleeve. I'd say getting a Billy Murray ARTo was a real bonus, since he was only freelancing for a brief window in 1919 or 1920. I also don't find a lot of phonograph stuff in the wild anymore. Maybe I should start getting back out there...

Thanks for pointing this out, Jerry!

One of the things I love about this hobby is that no matter how long you're into it, there's always something new to discover. Great research, Nate!

I'd recommend combine topics with the other, (if you reach out the admin Rod) so they're together.

Thanks Nate! What a cool example and with a lot of Edison history behind it. It would be easy to cast off as a Frankenphone were it not for your great research! It is truly a special machine. In my view, no machine is too common to post here as long as it has a special place in someone's collection. Every machine has a unique story to tell, but the story is not often known. When it is, such as with your 50, it makes any machine special. Thanks!!

It doesn't get much better than a machine that isn't supposed to exist! I suspect that during B-V production, the decision was made to re-name it the Amberola 50 in order to simplify the Amberola line to those 3 basic models (30, 50, and 75). Once the old V cabinets were exhausted, the conventional 50 cabinet was sent out. That's my theory anyway! Very interesting, Nate! George P.

MODEL: Amberola 50 SERIAL #: 16 YEARS MADE: 1915- mid 1920s COST: $50 CASE/CABINET SIZE: 16 ½ in. high, 16 ¾ in. base x 22 in. per Frow TURNTABLE: --- REPRODUCER: Diamond C (Serial number 3125) MOTOR: Double spring HORN DIMENSIONS: Internal, 10 in. x 8 in. (per Frow) REPRODUCTION PARTS: None CURRENT VALUE: Unknown INTERESTING FACTS : Possibly the earliest surviving Amberola 50 Alright guys, I know the Amberola 50 probably isn’t the most interesting machine out there to make my first featured entry. I promise it’s worth it. As George suggested in his post on the Victor III, this Amberola really fits the bill of “a common machine with an unusual feature.” According to George Frow, the Amberola 50 was introduced in June 1915 at $50, with 350 machines sold in that first month. Over the life of the Amberola 50, it was subject to several price increases, reaching a high of $68 in 1918 before finally reverting back to the original $50 price in April 1923. From the Amberola 50s I’ve observed in my research, the serial numbers indicate over 42000 units made. Certainly a respectable run. What makes this machine special? Quite frankly, it really shouldn’t exist. After the devastating fire of December 1914, the Edison Phonograph Works were doing all they could to get production up and running. This resulted in a number of post-fire hybrid models, using whatever survived to get phonographs out the door. Per George Frow, Edison was left with 859 cabinets on order for the Amberola V. Since they were obliged to accept these 859 cabinets, the company decided to fit them with the new Amberola 50/75 mechanism and ship them as the Amberola B-V, beginning in May 1915 at a price of $65. It was the perfect solution, the 859 cabinets would be used up, and life could move on. But were all the Amberola V cabinets really used on the B-V? Apparently not... This Amberola 50, the 16th machine off the line, is housed in a mahogany Amberola V cabinet. Instead of the standard Amberola V wood grille, it sports a painted metal grille similar to the one used on the Amberola VI. In my burgeoning Amberola 30/50/75 database, this is the lowest serial number I’ve found to date. The next lowest, number 41, is also housed in a mahogany Amberola V cabinet. But #41 is missing the pinstriping visible here on #16. Evidently the pinstriping was not very long lived in Amberola 50 production. My Amberola 50 is effectively a B-V, even though it isn’t labeled as such. I find myself wondering what came first, the earliest 50s, or the B-V? Sure, the Amberola 50 is a common machine that doesn’t excite much collector interest. But I think this example is unique enough to deserve to be featured. It’s a cool window into a very desperate time in the life of the Edison phonograph.

I've always wondered how these sounded. Thanks for sharing such a neat example!

As others have said, it's neat having a chance to compare the Canadian Berliner with a US Victor. I'm a big fan of the escutcheon they used for the crank and speed control!

I've always loved the Victor III! They're great machines, the perfect blend of size, price and performance in my opinion. When I first started collecting, one of my goals was an external horn disc phonograph. When that time came, I settled on a Victor III. Mine sports the simple black and brass horn, but I've always loved the look of that horn. But your oak horn sure is snazzy, and you certainly can't beat that story.