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VV 35

RARITY: ¤¤   VALUE:  ¤ 

The VV-35 was Victor's second-generation 'suitcase-style' phonograph. The popularity of its predecessor, the VV-50, prompted Victor to manufacture a lower-cost portable model which also had the advantage of less weight and a more rugged cabinet.  The VV-35 was introduced in the fall of 1924, and sold moderately well for a few years. Retailing for just $35.00 (which equates to about $530.00 in today's money), it featured a small single spring motor, a Victrola "No 2" soundbox, nickel plated hardware and a durable black fabric cover over the wood cabinet frame.
As was the case with the VV-50, the horn was located to the rear of the tonearm assembly; therefore, the lid had to remain open in order to listen to records. A small space in the lid allowed users to carry a few records inside the cabinet.
The VV-35 sold almost 60,000 copies over the course of three years. Production was discontinued in early 1926, when the vastly improved Orthophonic portables (such as the VV 2-60) were introduced. Even though public interest in wind-up phonographs was beginning to wane in the early 1920's, the demand for portable machines such as the VV-35 remained strong throughout the entire decade.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent VV-35 to be S/N 525 and the latest to be S/N 60517.    

Do you own a Victrola VV-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