Like the Model T cars made by his close friend Henry Ford, Thomas Edison's phonographs were finished in black, at least for most of the metalwork. Edison's rival, the Columbia Phonograph Company, made a vast array of machines with bright nickel plating, but Edison only offered this elegant finish on special order --at significantly higher cost. Nickel plating the bedplate and top works of the ever-popular Edison Home cost $25, in addition to the $30 base price of the machine. Not surprisingly, very few customers chose to nearly double the cost of a phonograph just for some shiny metal, and nickel plated Homes, Standards, and Triumphs are extremely rare today as a result. (Those who had the money to want an elegant machine usually opted for a more expensive phonograph at the outset.) This machine dates to 1901 and is the earliest version of the "new style" Model A Home case, which supplanted the so-called 'Suitcase' Home first sold in 1896. The bright decal with red printing is a carryover of the decal used on the top lid of earlier Homes. Within only a few months Edison Homes appeared with a more restrained banner with black letters. The case is finished in green oak, a color which was unpopular with customers and which Edison quickly abandoned in favor of a more traditional brown. The combination of the red decal, green cabinet, and bright plating makes this an unusually striking phonograph.