Design Details: Lid Support Mechanisms
The earliest flat-top Pooley Victrolas used a "bent pivot arm" or Elbow Lid Support mechanism, which pivoted and locked at a circular center joint on the lid support arm. With this design, the lid was either fully closed or fully open, with no graduation. This design was used only for a few months on the very first Victrolas.
Later in 1906, the bending pivot was replaced with a Ratchet Lid Support, which was used until the flat-top Pooleys were discontinued. On this design, the lid could be opened to several different positions, rather than the "fully open" requirement of the earlier design.
The ratchet-lock was quickly replaced by a Sliding Lid Support system when the dome-lid Victrolas were introduced in 1907. This basic mechanism was used for all lidded Victrolas for many years. This system will automatically lock the lid in the "up" position when opening, but requires that the the support arm be manually pulled up towards the user to close the lid. The cheaper Victrolas used a simple external pin to catch on the sliding arm's indent point (left), while the more deluxe models had the catch built-in to a slotted cover (right), having a similar external appearance to the "air-damper" design.
In 1923, Victor introduced an Air Damper Lid Support system on its higher priced models, wherein the user could simply lift the lid to automatically latch it, and push back down on it to close it. This eliminated the need to pull on the support arm. An internal air damper cylinder allowed the lid to close slowly without slamming. Since the air damper system was internal to the machine cabinet, this design appears almost identical to the earlier sliding latch mechanism used on deluxe models.
In 1925, with the introduction of the Orthophonic Victrolas, the more costly models adopted a Spring Lid Support system for opening and closing the lid. These systems were more complex than the previous mechanisms, but were intended to allow easy lifting and lowering of the lid with virtually no effort. In theory, the springs would act as a counterbalance to help lift the lid with minimal effort, and would also close the lid smoothly with a slight touch. However, in practice, the degree of spring support usually varies considerably with temperature and age, and most of these mechanisms require more force to open and close than was intended.
The less expensive Orthophonics continued to use the manually operated Sliding Latch mechanism, which had been in use since 1907.
Needle Holder Trays (Cups)
Many Victrolas had a special needle storage system, wherein a special space was allowed for Loud Tone, Soft Tone and Used Needles. Cups at either end were intended for new loud and soft needles, and the center cup (often with a steel receptacle) was intended for disposing of the old needles. This receptacle could easily be removed to toss out the old needles. Some models also have a small "slot" on the rear of the cup holder with spring loaded holders. This was intended for the Tungstone needle containers (as shown). Tungstone needles could be used many times over and over, while the standard steel needles could play only one record before causing wear to the disc.
