Display: Hit Parade

‘Hit Parade’ is the current display at the District of Lake Country office. It contains recorded music in several forms including Edison cylinder gramophone recordings, 78, 45, and 33 1/3 rpm records, cassette tapes, and CDs. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra are represented, along with several Canadian musicians. There is also a wind-up portable gramophone called the Peter Pan. The Peter Pan Gramophone was sometimes called a cameraphone because it was housed in a black box similar to a camera. Because of its small size (4” x 4” x 6”), it was often taken on picnics and outings. It contained a Swiss-made motor, a spring released horn, and a fold-down turntable made of 4 rods. These gramophones were made between 1920 and 1927 by Peter Pan Gramophone Ltd. of London, England.

Museum volunteer Karen Gibbons prepared this historical exhibit.