An improved version of the Gramophone, a talking machine invented by Emil Berliner (1851-1929) in 1888, and made since 1894 using a patented hard rubber disc, was introduced by Berliner's US Gramophone Company. In 1901, Berliner formed the Victor Talking Machine Company with Camden, NJ inventor Eldridge R. Johnson who improved the disc quality of what was now called a phonograph "record" system. Berliner's system was hand-cranked and lacked a constant pitch, sounding (to Johnson) like a "partly-educated parrot with a sore throat and a cold." Johnson added a spring-driven motor. The new system revolutionized the phonograph industry, because the "records" were compact for storage and durable enough to avoid normal damage during usage, and the sound quality was much improved. Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931), of course, had invented the original phonograph in 1877, using a wax cylinder on his first model M of 1888. His Model A of 1898 still used a steel cylinder covered with tinfoil, and by the Model F of 1911, his was the last company still using the now-outdated cylinder system. The new 1901 Victor product used an image of a dog, "Nipper" listening to "his master's voice" on a phonograph. The image was from an 1898 painting by English artist Francis Barraud, sold in 1899 to Berliner's Gramophone Company Ltd. in London, and patented in 1900. American rights were sold to the Victor Talking Machine Company. The company was purchased by RCA in 1929, and they acquired rights to the trademark which was used extensively until 1968. But because of its popular appeal, RCA, now Thomson Electronics, re-introduced it in 1990, adding a smaller canine companion, "Chipper", representing the company's semiconductor-based future in electronics.

Copy The Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901 by Emil Berliner and Eldridge R. Johnson, introduced the Victrola at a price of $200. Unlike previous phonographs, which were toy-like turntables with a large speaker horn to amplify the sound, this was housed in an elegant wood cabinet in several contemporary (for the time) furniture styles. The speaker horn and turntable mechanism were totally concealed, and there were convenient storage compartments for records. This Victrola design, by Johnson, and in particular a refined version of 1907, transformed the phonograph into a popular household item, and set the pattern of wood cabinetry enclosures later imitated by radios and television sets well into the 1950s. Berliner (1851-1929) had in 1888 invented the first flat rubber disc system, an improvement over Thomas A. Edison's original 1877 cylinder system, and incorporated it into his 1896 Gramophone. Johnson, also an inventor, improved the sound quality of Berliner's system with a spring-driven motor. Together, Berliner and Johnson formed the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1901, which was acquired by RCA in 1929.