The Gramophone was perfected by Emile Berliner in 1888,he was a self taught accoustics and electrical engineer,he first built a simple phonautograph and then fixed the trace on the smoke-blackend paper with shellac.this was then transformed into an etched groove by a photoengraving process on a thin metal plate.The plate was then wrapped around the cylinder and played back through the recording diapharam.Berliner then decided to replaced the cylinder with a glass disc coated with a thin layer of linseed oil and lamp black.Then he had to eliminate the photographic part of the process,and he did this by using a zinc plate covered with a solution of beeswax in benzine,leaving a thin layer of wax after the benzine had evaporated.The stylus cut a groove in the wax,exposing the metal which was then etched with chromic acid.But more importintly there could be a raised grove version of this made,which could be used to press several copies of the disc which Edison`s cylinder process could`nt do.This was the genisis of the flat disc.
Importent dates of the Gramophone

1888 Emile Berliner demonstrated the flat disc Gramophone
1893 Gramophone marketed in the U.S
1896 The "Berliner Gramophone Company" was formed
1896 The Berliner Gramophone Company introduced it`s first spring motor instrument the "Baby Grand Gramophone" ,The motor was built and designed by Eldridge R.Johnson
1887 The "Gramophone Company" was formed in London by E.Berliner
1892 J.E Hough set up "Edisona"
1898 "The Edison Bell Phonograph Corporation Ltd" joined forces with J.E Hough
1898 The Trademark model gramophone was produced
1899 W.B Owen (The Gramophone Company) bought the picture from the artist Francis Barraud of a fox terrier with his ear to the horn of a gramophone,(originaly was a cylinder machine,and Owen offerd to buy it if the machine was repainted as a gramophone),the picture was called "His Masters Voice" and was first used by Victor as their tradmark in the USA,the Gramophone Company in England was using the The Recording Angel The Gramophne Company in London used the Logo and the words His Masters Voice on there products after 1909/1910 when they lost the rights to use the term "Gramophone",The dog`s name is "Nipper"
1900 The Gramophone company was reorganized and called "Gramaphone and Typewriter Ltd"
E.R Johnson starts trading as the "Consolidated Talking Machine Company" later in december he is restrained from using the name and starts trading under the "Victor" trade mark
1901 E.R Johnson introduces the 10" record in the USA
1903 The G & T Company introduces the 12" record
1907 The First concealed horn model "The Gramophone Grand"
1908 The company Changed back to it`s former name due to failure of the typewriter part of the buissness
1909 The First hornless model the "Pigmy Grand"
1910 The Dog and His Masters Voice replaced the "Gramophone" label on all products
1919 The Radio Cororation of America (R.C.A) is formed
1920 E.R Johnson Joins the board of "The Gramophone Company"
1924 The first electric recordings were produced which gave a wider frequency range
1929 Edison stop`s producing the now inferior cylinder records
RCA buy the Victor Talking Machine Company which is mde a subsiduary of RCA
1930 Full Range Recording
1949 The plastic long playing (LP)record was introduced by the Columbia Record Company
The plastic 45rpm recrord was introduced by the RCA Victor company
1952 RCA introduced the extended play 45 (EP)
1958 Stereo records were introduced
1982 Philips and Sony Introduce the Compact Disc (CD)