1912- 1913

Mr Rene Rondeau has done a great deal of research on the school phonograph and located 23 examples worldwide. This particular machine is unique, as it has unusual panels. There is no Edison logo on the front. Probable one of the prototype machines. The Edison School Phonograph was the last outside horn phonograph made by Edison, released in December 1912 and discontinued in 1914. Mechanically it is identical to the Edison Opera, however instead of the Opera's wooden cabinet and horn, the School Phonograph was has a black-painted cast iron body with a metal horn (the better to withstand the rigors of use among young school children). Like the Opera, the reproducer is fixed in position and the record moves underneath it. The cast iron stand has casters allowing it to be moved among different classrooms, and has racks to hold a set of special educational cylinders. It was a resounding sales flop, and only 26 are known to exist today.