Mulholland Press

Publications for the phonograph collector

Brunswick Panatrope


Brunswick again with the help of its RCA contract was able to be the first to announce a fully electric phonograph, which they called the Panatrope. It used radio technology with components supplied by RCA.

The Brunswick Panatropes were announced in the summer of 1925, and the first demonstrations took place in August. There were demonstrations in major cities around the country, but the dealers did not have any to sell until very close to Christmas. It is unclear how many were sold in the last days of 1935, but it appears that the number was small.

The Victor Talking Machine Company also by this time had a contract with RCA and had announced its own fully electric phonograph, the Electrola. There was something of a race between the two rivals to be the first to deliver these new instruments. Shipping records indicate that Victor shipped only 28 Electrolas in 1925, and Brunswick is thought to have been more successful. It is unlikely that RCA played favorites with their two best customers, so it can be assumed that Victor and Brunswick both received their RCA components at the same time. Brunswick took the expedient of using existing cabinets for the early Panatropes and this undoubtedly cut their production time enough that they were able to ship Panatropes before Victor was able to ship Electrolas.



Pasted Graphic
Brunswick panatrope p10