Victor Type Z
The
Victor Z was
introduced in 1903, at a time when Victor's product line was
expanding and advancing very rapidly. It was intended as an introductory model for
'budget-minded' buyers (although it certainly wasn't cheap), replacing the basic Victor R
model. The Z featured an 8" turntable and single spring motor with a
basic oak cabinet (left). It sold new for $20.00,
which equates to approximately $750.00 in today's money. A stamped steel
horn was standard along with an Exhibition Soundbox.
It should be noted that there was a great deal of "design overlap" between
the later versions of the Victor R, the Victor Z
and Victor I models, some of which shared
identical cabinets and components. This is likely due to the fact
that the factory was simply churning-out these machines (and using-up
available parts) without much regard for product continuity or model
positioning at a time when demand for phonographs was growing at a frenzied
pace. In addition, the huge factory fire of April 1904, may have destroyed
past production files as well as machine cabinets, components and serial
number tags. It is then possible that the plant started piecing-together
whatever components they could find when production got back into operation,
starting with any new serial number sequence they chose. Exact
production totals for the Victor Z are unknown, since the surviving factory
production information is very sparse for this model. Based on
a large database of surviving examples, it appears as if large blocks of
serial numbers were skipped in production; The best that can be estimated is that a minimum of 20,000 (and quite possibly many thousands more) were made during
its 2-year run.
The Victor Z was phased-out when the
Victor I was well into production.
The current survival database shows the earliest existent Victor Z to be S/N 1643 and the latest to be S/N 54911, although there are large blocks of 'skipped' serial numbers in this data.
Do you own a Victor Z? Please take a moment and enter some basic information about your machine into the collector's database by clicking here. No personal information is required.