As Lamar Pruitt cranked a handle on his Victor Vic III, a phonograph produced in the early 20th century, and dropped the machines, the room in his Cumming home filled with the sound of “Golden Slippers” by Vernon Dalhart and Carson Robinson, a gospel tune recorded in the 1920s, played from a shellac disk, a predecessor to modern vinyl records.
“You have to wind it up,” Pruitt explained. “No electricity.”
While many may have never heard – or heard of – a phonograph or other antique devices, the Vic III is one of about 25 of the machines that Pruitt owns, including phonographs – machines like the Vic III with a horn and hand crank – and Victrolas – larger players with internal horns inside a wooden cabinet making it more of a piece of furniture.
Each of the machines has its own story and intricacies, and most are filled with records.
Area man owns 60,000 records and Coke bottles more than 100 years old