The Victor Victrola VTLA
by Loran T. Hughes
The Victor Victrola VTLA designation encompassed the four earliest Victrola styles, which include the Mertz (not shown), Pooley (a.k.a. "flat top"), XVI, and XX. The hallmark of the VTLA series is the distintive "L" door cabinet design.

The Victor Victrola, the first phonograph to have its horn enclosed in a cabinet, began life on the drawing board as early as 1903. The first Victrola cabinets were manufactured by the Pooley Furniture Company in 1906. These L-door style cabinets were given VTLA (shorthand for VicTroLA) serial numbers. As cabinet production eventually moved into the Victor facilities, the VTLA designation and serial number series continued to be used on the newer Victrola styles.

The VTLA Series
Serial No. Style
406 Mertz
1424 Pooley
1500 Pooley
1839 Pooley
4553 XX
5169 XX
5713 XVI
5786 XX
6045 XVI
7717 XVI
8330 XX
9651 XVI
11172 XVI
11596 XVI

On the surface, VTLA serial numbers don't seem to make much sense. The fact is that all pre-1909 Victrolas were lumped into the same VTLA serial number block, regardless of the cabinet style.

The chart on the left shows a sampling of surviving VTLA serial numbers. As you might expect, the earliest serial numbers correspond to the Mertz and Pooley cabinets. However, XVI and the short lived XX style serial numbers are intermixed.

Now for the bottom line - just how many VTLAs were manufactured? The current estimates are:
Mertz & Pooley Style: 2,500
Style XVI: 9,000
Style XX: 500
Total: 12,000

Accordingly, VTLA serial numbers ended in 1909 at about 12000. The XVI cabinet design was simplified, but retained the distinctive L-doors until serial number 60000 in 1912.
Now for an interesting mystery. Inside each style XVI and XX VTLA is a celluloid tag located on the back wall of the 12 inch record storage area. The XVI cabinet is labelled as "Style B," while the XX cabinet is labelled "Style C." Could the earlier Pooley cabinet be considered as "Style A?" Unfortunately, tags of this nature have not been found in these early cabinets.

Each tag also shows the letter "P" inside a square. The meaning of this is unknown, but may be an indication that the Pooley Furniture Co. had a hand in producing these later cabinets as well.
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