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VV 2-35

RARITY: ¤   VALUE:  ¤ 

The VV 2-35 was an updated entry-level portable suitcase phonograph introduced in the fall of 1928, replacing the discontinued VV 2-30. It was a significantly modernized machine from its predecessor, with a sleeker low-profile wood case, an angle-mounted crank, and an Orthophonic soundbox. A slot was provided in the lid to store a few records. Like the 2-30, it came with a single spring motor and a black faux-leather coating covering the case. While the Orthophonic soundbox certainly improved the machine's overall sound quality, the small internal horn was not designed according to true Orthophonic principals, so its performance did not quite match-up to the more sophisticated portables models such as the VV 2-55. Sound was radiated from the rear opening behind the turntable and was reflected off the lid toward the listener. The 2-35 was a moderate success and was produced well into the early 1930's, even after RCA had purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company; by that time, the company had 're-branded' the machine as an RCA product.
The original 1928 selling price of the 2-35 was $25.00, which equates to about $375.00 in today's money. An estimated total of 56,000 Victrola 2-35 machines were produced up until October of 1929. Production of those machines branded as "RCA" products (made after October 1929) is indeterminate, but based on surviving examples, consists of at least an additional 20,000 units.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent VV 2-35 to be S/N 732 and the latest to be S/N 54819 (does not include models marked as "RCA" products)

Do you own a Victrola VV 2-35? 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.

Approximate chronology of Victrola "Suitcase" portable models