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Cromwell (VE 12-1)

RARITY: ¤¤¤   VALUE:  ¤¤ 

The Cromwell (also called the VE 12-1) was one of the very first mass-produced fully electronic phonographs, pairing a Victor-designed turntable and tonearm with an RCA-built amplifier and cone speaker. The Cromwell was introduced in early 1926, and production was discontinued in the summer of 1927.  The cabinet used a mahogany veneer with a blended-stain effect. This instrument did not include a radio.
The Cromwell was a lower-cost version of its sister model, the Tuscany, with a less powerful amplifer and a slightly smaller cabinet. The Cromwell sold for $450.00 when first introduced (equating to about $5,800.00 in today's money), but the price was substantially reduced the following year when manufacturing costs began to drop as a result of improved production efficiencies for electronic components. In addition, these pioneering electronic machines became obsolete quite rapidly, as new models with significantly improved function were being released almost monthly during this time. Many of the earliest electronic sets were also prone to reliability problems as well as excessive distortion and/or hum, so not all buyers were interested in adopting this new technology in 1926. The Cromwell was also one of the very first sets for home use that featured a paper-cone speaker; prior to this, electromagnetic drivers were used in the neck of large horns to provide the audio output.
Approximately 6,000 Cromwell phonographs were produced, making it a relatively rare model. However, the high cost of restoration of these early electronic sets limits the interest of many collectors today.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent Cromwell to be S/N 582 and the latest to be S/N 5933.    

Do you own a Victor Cromwell? 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.