HMV internal horn gramophone, c. 1920, fitted with ‘World’ record controller

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HMV internal horn gramophone, c. 1920, fitted with ‘World’ record controller
Manufacturer	HMV
Production years	1922
Production location	(unknown)

On conventional disc records the turntable rotates at a constant speed. As a result the speed the needle tracks the groove progressively decreases as it approaches the centre. Greater playing time can be achieved if the turntable speed is reduced at the outermost groove and gradually increased as the needle traverses the record. Noel Pemberton Billing developed the ‘World’ record controller as an attempt to achieve long-playing records. When it was correctly mounted on an ordinary gramophone the groove passed under the needle at a constant linear speed so chosen so that the playing time could be raised by a factor of from 3 to 5. Special records were needed, cut on a turntable subject to the same type of control. The device was not commercially successful.

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[edit] In the Science Museum's Records

Inv. No (gramophone): 1955-48 Source: G Bartholomew

Inv No (record controller): 1958-259 Source: J E Manasseh