VV-XII
RARITY: ¤¤¤ VALUE ¤¤¤
The XII was Victor's
first attempt at marketing a tabletop model with an enclosed horn, based on the
resounding success of the VV-XVI, Victor's first internal-horn floor model
phonograph. First released in the summer of
1909 with a price tag of $125.00, it failed to sell well. In comparison to the
large and elegant $200.00 XVI (Victor's only other internal horn
model at the time), the $75 price difference was not sufficient to attract less
affluent customers to purchase this relatively small machine. In addition, the
XII had a very small horn, which sounded rather anemic in comparison to the XVI
or the external horn models.
The XII was discontinued after only one year of production. Due to their rarity and
relatively early manufacture, these machines are prized by collectors
today. Most XII's were produced in mahogany, but a few were produced with
an oak finish. Early production versions have a very plain cabinet (left); some
molding and carving detail was added for models produced after January, 1910
(right).
The selling price of the XII was $125.00. An estimated total of 4,913 Victrola XII's were produced.
The current collector database shows the earliest existent VV-XII to be S/N 517 and the latest to be S/N 5121.
| Manufacture Date | Serial Number Range | Feature Notes |
| 1909 | 501-3000 | |
| 1910 | 3000-5413 | Carving detail added under the lid. "A" suffix added. |
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