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Bob Bell

Columbia 101(1948)

Updated: Jan 3

33 Player







Columbia’s spanking new 33 rpm player, made in 1948 for their new long-playing micro-groove record, to be known as the LP, always written as Lp in Columbia’s advertisements. The company gave these beautifully designed bakelite players away free to those who bought 5 or more new LPs which was a sound marketing ploy, as they needed to get the hardware out there to sell the new format. They were made by Philco but had a Columbia logo on many of them. A tabletop player, it was a turntable only and had to be plugged into a radio or amplifier.


I found this particular player in a trash bin at Oakland’s annual White Elephant Sale, a huge affair held to raise funds for the Oakland Museum. Why it had been abandoned was beyond me as it was, and still is, in perfect condition and needed no repairs. Even the stylus and cartridge were in perfect order.


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