Polyphon - Disc Storage Cabinet
Production date
Unknown
Country
Germany
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Object detail
Description
A carved wooden cabinet designed to hold discs for the polyphon. The polyphon stood on top of this cabinet. The front of the cabinet hinges out revealing eight slots which hold the discs. Grooves have been worn on the top of the cabinet, where the player rests.
Classification
FURNITURE Domestic cupboard
AUDIO-VISUAL TECHNOLOGY Audio Accessories record holder
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Automatic polyphon
AUDIO-VISUAL TECHNOLOGY Audio Accessories record holder
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Automatic polyphon
Production date
Unknown
Production place
Measurements
Closed: L710 x W410 x H760 mm
Open: W755 x L710 x H760 mm
Open: W755 x L710 x H760 mm
Media/Materials description
Indeterminate Softwood (Woods) Steel (Metals - Ferrous) Iron (Metals - Ferrous) Brass (Metals - Non-Ferrous)
History and use
Housed beneath a Polyphon player, this cabinet was used to store the musical discs. The Polyphon could play a greater variety of songs because the discs were easier to store flat and collect than their bulkier predecessors, the musical cylinders. Cylinders were only able to play a set number of tunes on rotation. The principle of operation was the same, however, where small steel teeth were plucked to create a tune.
Made in Germany for the English market, the player and this cabinet were restored by Harold Dickinson in the 1950s and played to friends and guests outside his music room at Indooroopilly. Harold and his brother Eddie both became blind from inherited Glioma and both were educated at The Blind School in Brisbane. The two young men became cabinet makers by trade and ran their business from the house at Goldieslie Road, where Harold lived with his wife Mercy, who was also vision-impaired. The music room was integral to the couple’s life in Brisbane.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
Made in Germany for the English market, the player and this cabinet were restored by Harold Dickinson in the 1950s and played to friends and guests outside his music room at Indooroopilly. Harold and his brother Eddie both became blind from inherited Glioma and both were educated at The Blind School in Brisbane. The two young men became cabinet makers by trade and ran their business from the house at Goldieslie Road, where Harold lived with his wife Mercy, who was also vision-impaired. The music room was integral to the couple’s life in Brisbane.
Uploaded to the Web 27 May 2011.
Registration number
H46553.2
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