1918 Victrola VV-XVII – Walnut

This machine has been fully restored and sold, this is an example of previous restoration work by New England Victrola & Clock. 

If you are interested in purchasing this Walnut XVII Victrola, contact us 

1918 Victrola VV-XVII – Walnut

Serial Number 15786

Restored in September 2019

The VV-XVII or “Victrola the Seventeenth” was Victor’s ‘premium’ phonograph listed in the company’s 1916-1921 product catalogs. A year prior to its introduction, Victor had launched the magnanimous VV-XVIII as their top-of-the-line Victrola retailing for $300.00 ($6,398 in todays money), which was $100.00 more than the VV-XVI ‘flagship’ model. This was an attempt to find a market ‘niche for wealthy buyers who wanted an exceptionally elegant phonograph in their home.

Introduced  in the fall of 1916 and was an elegant and impressive machine with its bombe’ style curved cabinet, nicely carved corner posts and figured brown or red mahogany. The base price of the XVII was set at $250.00, which equates to almost $5,332.09 in today’s money.

In addition to Mahogany, a number of other veneer options were available; finishes in Circassian or American Walnut added $50.00 to the price tag

An electric motor option (designed as “VE-XVII”) was also available, adding $50.00 to the list price.  A total of just over 2,500 electric motor versions (VE-XVII) were made, all produced during 1916 and 1917.

While a total of approximately 20,700 VV-XVII machines were manufactured, this turned-out to be more than could be sold in the near-term. Many remained sitting in factory inventory waiting for orders. While production of cabinets for the XVII got off to a roaring start, output had slowed markedly upon the onset of the US involvement in World War One (April 1917).  The remaining inventory then slowly ‘trickled out’ to dealers well into 1921.