TOURNAPHONE/PATHE GRAMOPHONE, 1906

This model of the Tournaphone was made in Germany under license before the First World War. Note:- these machines use a jewelled stylus not a needle.

The word gramophone was first used by Alexander Graham Bell when he developed a machine using flat records instead of cylinders, but the principle was the same as Edison's Hill and Dale method (stylus vibrates up and down). Emile Berliner, a German American, first produced flat records that vibrated the stylus from side to side (the opposite of Bell's design).

The Tournaphone was a design developed by 'PATHE' in 1906 and plays Hill and Dale records at 90 rpm starting from the inside moving to the outside. It was easily changed to play ordinary 78 rpm records by turning the sound box, and replacing the jewelled stylus with a needle. 78 rpm records continued till the 1950's, the museum demonstrates 78rpm records on several gramophones including the Tournaphone.

• Watch the Gramophone in Operation on E2BN
  

Your comments:

• These gramophones are so cool, I'm starting to feel a bit hipsterish :). I recently bought a gramophone replica from gramophonecity.com and I like it so much. I ruined a vinyl record at first, because I didn't knew it uses a different type. But now I'm getting the hang of it and I hope I'll get my hands on an authentic gramophone soon.
  .......... Ivan, Silistra Bulgaria, 26th of January 2015
  
  

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