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Victor I

RARITY: ¤   VALUE:  ¤¤¤ 

The Victor I was the company's popular low-cost, basic external-horn phonograph model for many years.  It was introduced in early 1903, and was somewhat of a "consolidation" of other low-cost models at a time when Victor's production output was expanding very rapidly. Victor began using Roman numeral designations for their machines around this time, replacing the confusing and overlapping letter designations for different models. The Victor I's predecessors, the Victor Z and Victor R, were also positioned as low-end basic models in 1903; these were eventually phased-out of production, and by the summer of 1905, the Victor I was the sole remaining "starter" model. While similar to the Z and R models, the Victor I had a slightly larger cabinet and turntable.
The Victor I was intended as a quality machine for budget-minded buyers, and initially featured an 8-inch turntable and single spring motor with a basic oak cabinet and Tapered Arm configuration.  It sold new for $22.00, which equates to approximately $650.00 in today's money. A stamped steel and brass horn was standard along with an Exhibition Soundbox. The cabinet was enlarged in 1909, and a heftier 10" turntable was introduced a year later (picture at left). Buyers could also opt for a small flower horn for a few dollars more.
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 early Victor I models, some of which shared nearly identical 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 numbers for the Victor I are unknown, but based on serial numbers of surviving examples, at least 100,000 units (and probably a lot more) were made until it was discontinued in the early 1920's. At present, there is not a good correlation between serial number and production date for this model. Serial numbers were reset back to "1" (or "501") several times during the production run, making accurate dating of these models very difficult, since the same serial numbers would have reappeared in production after the serialization sequence was reset. The factory fire also contributed to this confusion, and certainly muddled product configurations and continuity; therefore the process of determining accurate estimates becomes very challenging today.

The following guidelines provide some idea of the manufacture date of this model, however this information is not certain:
 - The earliest Victor II models are stamped "Type V 1" and have no suffix letter after the serial number. These were likely made between 1903 and 1905.
-  The next sequential group in production were stamped "Type Vic I", and the serial numbers were reset back to "1". These were likely produced between 1905 and 1909, although the exact date range is uncertain.
-  Starting in 1909. these models were denoted as "Style Vic I" and the cabinet was enlarged slightly. Serial numbers were reset again. They may have a suffix letter after the serial number as denoted in the chart below.
-  Post 1914 models were stamped "Style V-I . These will also have a suffix letter after the serial number per the chart below:

The current survival database shows the earliest existent Victor I to be S/N 77 and the latest to be S/N 92401. (Be aware that serial numbers were reset at least twice during the production run)

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