March 4, 2010

Treasure Thursday - Mémère's Victrola

Victor Victrola

When I was a little girl, I stayed with my grandparents off and on when my mother was still working in the mills.  My mother, father, sister and brother all worked being much younger then all of them, I had quite a way to go before I would join any workforce.  I love my Mémère Lévesque!  

Once when I was staying at the home of my grandparents, my grandfather bought a Victor Victrola pretty much as you see above and it was made of oak.  Of course, as a kid I guess what I loved most was having to crank it up for it to play. 

 
I also loved looking at the image of the dog "Nipper" on the inside of the cover.  The above graphic was the trade mark for Victor Victrola.


There was nothing automatic about the Victrola either.  You had to change the needle pretty regularly.  Once you had cranked it up, there was a switch that would start the turn table then you had to lift the arm manually and place the needle at the beginning of the record you wanted to play.  The records were made of vinyl and carried labels by Victor, Decca, Columbia and other companies but Decca was pretty big.  It was very popular and big business.
I often wish somone in the family had kept that old victrola.  I've no idea whatever became of it.  The sound wasn't terrific but we enjoyed listening the french quadrilles on it.  Of course, the records were all 78's.  Those were the days when I stayed with Mémère* and Pépère*!

*Mémère = Grandmother; Pépère = Grandfather.
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Lucie's Legacy
Lucie LeBlanc Consentino



2 comments:

Evelyn Yvonne Theriault said...

I loved this post, Lucie - and hte graphics that accompanied it. You have one of the most beautiful blogs in the Geneablogging world!
I planning a blog about my own journey from 78 rpm to 33 rpm and 45 rpm, to 8-track etc. etc. but I must say we never had the Victrola you describe.
Evelyn in Montreal

Lucie LeBlanc Consentino said...

Thank you Evelyn. We never had a Victrola. The fist record player my father purchased was for the 78 rpms. Later he got small record player on which I could play 33s. By the time of my marriage I was into 8 track. It has been quite a trip! ;o)

Lucie