RCA Victor Special portable phonograph, model M

Vassos’s portable tabletop record player was light years away from the large cabinets commonly built to hold phonographs in the early 1900s. Look closely and you’ll see the “Slow/Fast” dial for 33 and 45 rpm (revolutions per minute) records, and compartments for new (right) and used (left) needles. The new industrial material of aluminum made a smooth, lightweight, and stylish case. While working for RCA, Vassos also designed cases for the first television sets, which debuted in 1939.