Description
As is the case with many inventions, Louis Glass and William S. Arnold were not the only ones to conceive the idea of a coin-operated phonograph at that time in history. In the UK, Charles Adams-Randall requested a patent for his Automatic Pariophone in 1888, and Albert K. Keller in the USA claimed to have been working on the first coin-operated phonograph since 1887 and that his first model was, in fact, manufactured just a few months earlier than Glass and Arnold’s initial model that had been presented at the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco, California on November 23, 1889. However, Glass and Arnold’s nickel-in-the-slot phonograph was the first official and public example of a working coin-operated phonograph, so it retains the honour of being the first of its kind.
He was quickly followed and overtaken by other manufacturers, including the “Big Four”—AMI, Seeburg, Wurlitzer, and Rock-Ola.
In 1949 the Select-O-Matic (aka, M100A model) was able to play 100 songs! This was due to the innovative rail system used in Seeburg’s machine that stacked the records horizontally instead of vertically. That same year, Seeburg introduced the Wall-O-Matic (aka, the 3W1 Wallbox) which would become incredibly popular in every diner and restaurant for the next 20 years.
A vintage music selector box, a perfect display item with expected signs of use
Vintage music selector box. Albums from the 1980s – Lionel Ritchie, Wham U2 and Chicago on display and has expected signs of use .
Product Code: 9480