Antique His Master's Voice Working Suitcase Gramophone. Great Britain, 1930s

This sober and antique suitcase gramophone was made by the famous His Masters Voice label for the French market. It dates from the 1930s and remains in quite good condition. The motor has been cleaned and overhauled in order to guarantee a great reproduction and a high-quality sound. The suitcase that contains the gramophone is covered by black leather, being this covering in really good condition with no worn or torn parts. It preserves the silvery-metal corner reinforcements, the original leather handle and the suitcase-type lock too. When we open the suitcase, inside we find a wooden plank that supports the turntable, the arm with the reproducer or soundbox and the gramophones controls. Both the wood and the silvery-metal component parts are very well preserved and draw our attention for their shiny surface. Inside the cover we find a compartment for storing records with the printed inscription LA VOIX DE SON MAITRE, His Masters Voice in France. Attached to the wooden plank there is also a small metal plate with two engraved numbers: TYPE 4045 Nº 12.283. Compact and elegant, this antique suitcase gramophone is a real classic that will delight every collector fond of music and antiques. Measurements: Width: 15.7 in / 40 cm. Height: 6.6 in / 17 cm. Depth: 11.8 in / 30 cm.History of His Masters Voice Inside the cover we find the famous brand logo with the inscription HIS MASTERS VOICE clearly printed in golden lettering. The brand was created in 1899 from a picture by Francis Barraud depicting the dog Nipper listening to his dead owners voice coming from a phonograph. The Gramophone Company bought the picture, but before they told Barraud to change the phonograph for a gramophone of their own. The rest is history: the image became worldly famous and the firm eventually changed its company name for the brand name. The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies. The company was merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1931 to form Electric and Musical Industries Limited (EMI), the company title as "The Gramophone Company Limited".