Johnson Victrola Museum - Dover, Delaware

Delaware State Museums maintains this phenomenal archive of Talking Machines, records, antique advertisements and business records from the advent of the Phonograph through the Orthophonic Victrola era. Fascinating displays of working antique machines, a rainbow of recording and playback horns, and a collection of Eldridge R. Johnson's personal belongings prove educational and entertaining for enthusiasts of all ages and levels of expertise.

Check out the website for directions, visiting information, and more about the collection at one of the nation's only museums dedicated to the history of the Victor Talking Machine Company, located in the hometown of its founder, Eldridge R. Johnson.

Camden County Historical Society - Camden, NJ

Located on Camden's eastern border with Collingswood, the three-building Camden County Historical Society (CCHS) complex is one of the area's largest public history facilities. CCHS is dedicated to perserving, celebrating and educating the public about the county's richly diverse history.

The complex offers the single largest collection of county historical records, living history programs, educational initiatives, and a museum wing that explores the region's history and culture. The museum features a large collection of antique Victor advertisements, rare signed photographs of famous Victor Artists, rare business records from the companies that pre-dated Victor, and historic photographs of the now famous company as it grew from a small machine shop on the waterfront to a 58-acre entertainment empire!

Menlo Park Museum - Edison, NJ

Thomas Edison recorded the nursery rhyme "Mary had a little lamb" on his first phonograph at his laboratory in Menlo Park on Dec. 6, 1877. This museum site is dedicated to Edison's life-long pursuit of invention, and is located in the town where he first discoverd that sound could be reproduced (among other things!).

Visit the website to read more about the history of sound recording from the Edison perspective, and to hear rare recordings, available online, from not only Edison records, but Victor, Colombia and others as well. The site features the unique "Thomas Alva Edison Recording Project", started in 1999. Recordings of great individuals of the 20th century, made on original Edison equipment, have been archived and preserved here, and transcribed onto the Internet so they may be shared with the worldwide community