The Allen Koenigsberg Phonograph Collection
Lot 3526:
Description
This fascinating early 20th-century retail ephemera archive centers on the innovative Arthur L. Van Veen & Co. “Bed-Set” Demonstration Booths, manufactured in New York City. Grounded by an original typed correspondence on Van Veen letterhead dated April 23, 1919, the group includes a rare 7-page illustrated promotional booklet detailing specifications for these modular, soundproof talking machine salesroom booths—complete with options for leaded cathedral glass window treatments. Accompanying the manufacturing documentation is a highly localized period advertising comic strip reprint from The Philadelphia Record promoting new monthly Victor Records at the historic C.J. Heppe & Son piano and talking machine emporium at 1117 Chestnut Street. As a seasoned specialist in early audio history, I find this collection a remarkable window into the rapid commercial infrastructure born to support the height of the early phonograph and acoustic record boom. All pieces are rendered on paper and show age-appropriate wear, including minor edge chipping, light handling creases, and uniform toning, but they remain remarkably crisp, legible, and structurally intact. Booklet: H 7″, W 5″, D 0.1″; Letter: H 11″, W 8.5″, D 0.1″; Comic: H 9″, W 6.5″, D 0.1″. Please see photos for condition. From the Allen Koenigsberg collection.
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