Little Wonder Phonograph, Bubble Books, Emerson, Victor, Harper, Columbia, Waterson, Berlin and Snyder

From 1925 through 1929 (the same years Victor controlled the Bubble Book copyright),Victor manufactured a phonograph decorated with images from the Bubble Books.- According to Robert W. Baumbach in The Victor Data Record Book, almost 23,000 were shipped, with most shipped between 1925 and 1927.- Three models were produced over the phonograph's lifetime -- the original, type A, and type B.- Later models had changes to the motor and some other parts.- Type A is the most common, and judging by its serial number -- 5899 -- that is the model shown here.

As you can see, some of the decals on one side appear faded, but this is not fading. - Instead, there is some kind of "wax" paper covering some of the decals. -My suspicion is that this wax paper was supposed to have been removed before the phonograph was shipped, but never was.- Over time, this paper may have interacted with the decals, making the color less sharp. - I have peeled this paper off the boy character and, once the paper was peeled off, the decal has the very same texture and shine as the other full-color decals, making it likely that this paper was supposed to have been removed. -If you have any other theories about this mysterious paper, please contact me.

The scans below show advertisements of these machines from the time (the first three courtesy of Darrell Lehman):