The Victor-Victrola Page   

Victor Junior

RARITY: ¤¤   VALUE:  ¤¤¤¤ 

The Victor Junior was introduced in 1906 as the company's least expensive-product. Selling for a mere $10,00 (which equates to about $340.00 in today's money) it used an integral horn/tonearm system made of stamped tin, a basic single-spring motor, and a simple oak cabinet. It utilized its own special "Victor Jr" soundbox. Early versions used a standard "funnel" horn (left), while late-production examples featured a small flower horn. Many were purchased as Christmas gifts for children due to the relatively low cost and simple operation. The "Junior" was still listed in the Victor catalog up until 1918, at which time its price had been raised to $12.00; however based on surviving examples, factory production for this model likely ceased around 1914. Machines sold after that date consisted of left-over old stock in the company's inventory.
Approximately 15,800 of these phonographs were produced.  At present, there is not a good correlation between serial number and production date for this model. Given that the "low-end" phonographs such as the Victor Jr. or Victor 0 were considered to be toys when new, and were not very durable, most were trashed when they became obsolete or worn-out; as a result, not many have survived, and collector interest for this model remains relatively high.

The current survival database shows the earliest existent Victor Jr. to be S/N 8 and the latest to be S/N 14162.    

Do you own a Victor Jr.? 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.