From its very crude beginnings in the early 1890s, the disc Gramophone rapidly improved in quality and soon began to rival, then surpass cylinder phonographs in popularity. The first decade of the twentieth century saw a very rapid increase in disc sales as Victor grew to dominate the market. Columbia cross-licensed patents with Victor and actively marketed both cylinder and disc machines, but Edison stuck obstinately to cylinders, believing (accurately) that the sound quality was superior. In 1906 Victor dramatically reshaped the playing field with the introduction of the Victrola, which turned the "talking machine" into fine furniture rather than a piece of machinery that looked out of place in most homes. Edison eventually had to give in to market pressures and produce a disc phonograph of his own. Constrained by patents as well as his belief in the superiority of vertical-cut versus lateral-cut grooves, Edison developed a disc which was totally different from Victor and Columbia records. These thick, heavy records were played with a permanent diamond stylus and were dubbed "Diamond Discs".

A series of Diamond Disc phonographs was introduced quietly in late 1912. Curiously, it was not until October 1913 that Edison made an official announcement to Edison dealers and the general public, sheepishly admitting "although these goods have been on the market in a limited way for about a year, yet at no time prior to this have we felt warranted in making any announcement..."

The sound quality of Edison's disc phonographs was unquestionably superior to Victor, and they also had the added convenience of a permanent stylus while Victor records required a fresh needle for each play. Nonetheless, Victor's dominance of the disc market had grown to the point that Edison could never begin to rival it. The appeal of Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs was also seriously diminished by Edison's insistence on choosing the type of music that would appear on his records. While Victor gave the public what it wanted --jazz, swing, grand opera -- until the mid-1920s Edison sold records with bland and unexciting old standards that appealed to a very small and conservative market.

Edison Diamond Disc phonographs ranged in price and style. Edison tried to appeal to an upscale market with elaborate "art cabinets," of which this "Sheraton" model is a beautiful example. The golden mahogany cabinet is decoratively inlaid with elaborate designs, including musical instruments on three sides as well as the lid. The workmanship is exquisite. All of the metal hardware was gold-plated. It's an extremely elegant machine which was originally priced at $290 -- equivalent to almost $6,000 in today's money. It was not a machine for the masses, for whom less expensive and less ornate styles were made. Unfortunately its appeal was limited and only 167 Model A-290 phonographs had been sold by the time it was discontinued at the end of 1914.

The beautiful inlays and carefully matched veneers are evident in the picture of the lid. All of the hardware, including the turntable and hinges, was gold-plated.