The instrument on the right is made by the inventor Charles Stroh; on the left is a home made version using a cigar box. The introduction of Gramophones spurred the idea that greater volume could be achieved by amplifying the sound of an instrument with a horn. Early buskers could not afford the horned version, let alone a real fiddle, so they made their own out of cigar or biscuit boxes.....

A selection of loudspeaker horns from the 1920's and a Bakelite Philips Loudspeaker from the 1930's. The horns would replace headphones on early valve receivers before loudspeakers had been perfected, or even manufactured, and were simply connected directly to the sound valve in the receiver. They were normally high resistance and therefore very sensitive. The connection from the sound valve would carry high voltages; (not like today's health and safety regulations!)

The word gramophone was first used by Alexander Graham Bell when he used a machine using flat records instead of cylinders, but the principle was the same as Edison's Hill and Dale method (needle vibrates up and down). Emile Berliner, a German American, first produced flat records that vibrated the stylus from side to side (the opposite of Bell's design). The Tournaphone was a design developed by 'PATHE' in 1906 and plays hill and dale records at 90 rpm starting from the inside moving to the outside. It was easily changed to play ordinary 78 rpm records by turning the sound box. 78 rpm records continued till the 1950's.

Toy gramophone with records of nursery rhymes and short stories.

2 valve reflex circuit, manufactured between 1922 and 1926. Original cost £22.8s.0d reducing to £15.16s.2d in 1925, and to £8.0s.0d in 1926.

The first commercially produced playing machine. It worked by vibrating the stylus up and down whilst moving across the cylinder (Hill and Dale method).

Early Crystal receiver, Form B, Cost £1.15s.0d. Also shown is a boxed set of Brown's Type F headphones

Kolster Toaster from September 1950, Cost £8.17s.1d. The Ryna Toaster is from the 1940's; this style is still being used in hotel kitchens today.

Made by over 40 different manufacturers on instructions from the government. They were very basic to keep the cost as low as possible, enabling everybody to be kept informed of events. Both Mains and battery versions are shown.

The 85 refers to the size of the flat bed or on which the type set is placed - 8 x 5 inch. Type is held in place by a box frame called a ‘Chase’ using blank spacers called 'Quoins’ to make up the complete area. Up to 30 sheets can be printed on these machines in one hour once the type has been placed and put onto the machine. Rollers move up onto a round disk covered in ink which revolves slightly on every press of the handle. Once the ink is on the 'form' (the completed 'Chase') the bed holding the paper ('Platen') to be printed is pressed hard onto the 'Form' and then removed after the handle restores to its rest position. Production of the range of Adana machines was between 1935 and the 1950's, and the 'Adana Agency' was founded in 1922 in Twickenham by Donald Affleck Aspinall Adana. All the machines were destined for the amateur market. This machine was made after 1953 and cost £16.80.

Since 1851 professional photographers used these cameras in their studios, once the process of glass plate negatives had been perfected. Other sizes of plate were half and quarter plate which were used by wealthy amateurs because of their convenient size.

The large lens suggests that it was used in theatres as it would need to be positioned a great distance from the screen. Illumination was by Carbon Arc (a high voltage such as ordinary mains voltage jumping between two carbon rods; a device was later incorporated to prevent overload). The slides were standard three and one quarter inch glass plates, often hand painted, or transparent positive photographs.

Cambridge calculator, the first of seven calculators produced by the company. This model was launched in August 1973 and cost £29.95 + VAT. Also in kit form for £24.95. Weighing less than 3.5oz. The Microvision TV1B was launched in Autumn 1978, size 4inch x 6inch and 1.5inch high. Its predecessor the TV1A sold for around £230, it weighed 26 oz; this made it ounce for ounce more expensive than Silver. The picture could be viewed from a foot away. Functioning on VHF and UHF bands, it was the world's first multi-standard receiver.