Man with phonograph, 1909. Precursor to the gramophone, the phonograph was the first device for recording and replaying sound. It was invented in 1877 by Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931). This phonograph, the Victrola, was designed by The Victor Talking Machine Company (1901-1929) in September 1906 to hide the turntable and horn inside a wooden cabinet. The intention was to produce a phonograph that looked less like a piece of machinery and more like a piece of furniture. Victrolas became by far the most popular brand of home phonograph, and sold in great numbers until the end of the 1920s.