The Victor-Victrola Page
VV 8-36 / VE 8-36 X
RARITY: YYY VALUE YY
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The 8-36 was a large Orthophonic Victrola introduced in 1928 for the export market. Like it's US "clone" (the VV 8-35) the 8-36 had a lower and more modern-looking cabinet than the Credenza. Unlike previous Victor designs, the 8-36 did not have doors covering the record albums; albums were stored with the colorful backings exposed on shelves located on both sides of the machine (albums not shown in this picture). At the time this model was introduced, the price of Victor Electrolas had dropped significantly, and consequently, the popularity of the acoustic phonographs quickly waned. Thus, this was one of the last large acoustic phonograph that Victor produced. The VV 8-36 was available only with a walnut finish, and included an automatic brake and 4-spring motor. All 8-36's are identical in features. Production of the 8-36 was discontinued in late 1928, although it remained in the Victor catalog during the following year.
8-36's have shown up with both "E" (for Export) and "C" (for Canadian) designators on the dataplates. Export machines were typically sent to Latin American countries, while the Canadian versions were distributed out of Montreal for all of Canada. All 8-36's were manufactured in Victor's Camden NJ plant. The primary differences between the 8-35 and 8-36 are minor changes to the cabinet trim.
An estimated total of 1,790 hand-wound Victrola 8-36's were produced, all during 1928. Serial numbers range from 501 through 2291.
The 8-36 was also available with an electric motor option (VE 8-36) , and a total of 250 of these machines were produced. Serial numbers range from 501 through 751.
The original 1928 selling price of the 8-36 depended on the country of sale. In Canada, it sold for $385 (CDN) for spring versions and $425 (CDN) for electric versions. In Latin America, the selling price was based on the contemporary exchange rate for each country, but equated to approximately $300 (US) for spring wound and $335 (US) for electric.
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