Gramophone records are best remembered as those heavy, easy to break platters that were played on old-fashioned gramophones. Although these discs did not appeal to a mainstream audience until after new phonograph cylinder records ceased to be commercially released in the 1920s, disk recordings began to be sold from 1894 (after being developed by Emile Berliner in 1888).
These Berliner disc recordings competed against cylinder records for a time and eventually lost the battle due to production and quality problems. After a key patent expired in 1918, development from a number of companies led to the introduction of new disc recording formats. Development, product refinement and market consolidation eventually occurred and this aided to the demise of cylinder recordings in favour of the newer, more versatile disc recording. A degree of standardisation had appeared by the mid-1920s with the 78 rpm speed being chosen (although this in fact varied slightly in different countries due to electricity supply differences).
Format wars were effectively over for music recording reproduction at this point, allowing the consumer to reap the benefits of a rapidly-expanding market for recorded music at home.
The term gramophone records generally encompasses all forms of older disc recording although individual disc recording forms are often referred to by their individual product names such as Berliner and Pathé. Product development did not cease, however, with different size disc records being released over time as well as product refinements taking place through to the late 1950s/early 1960s when gramophone records were finally replaced by vinyl records.
Musiclibrary.fi maintains a large collection of gramophone records and access will be provided to our catalogues in the future.