Click the audio below to hear the recording of the Star Spangled Banner performed by Geraldine Farrar. This record is part of the McFaddin-Ward collection and was recorded on this device in 2022.

This object is a phonograph produced around 1912 by the Victrola Talking Machine Company from Camden New Jersey. The company hired a furniture maker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to build the special cabinet. Ouida Caldwell Watts, the sister of Ida Caldwell McFaddin, bequeathed this phonograph to the McFaddin family upon her death in the 1950s.
This was an object that only wealthy people could afford when it was first sold to the public, as it was very expensive to buy. Eventually, middle class families afforded the popular music maker. The finish is known as a Vernis Martin finish, featuring hand-paintings over gold leaf, was an option made available in 1909.

The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison as he was developing a way to record and reproduce sound. His “talking machines” used cylinder records, but they were expensive to make. Emile Berliner designed the flat disc record in 1892. Victrolas can only play 78 RPM records, not modern day records we play on our record players.

This Victrola has a horn built inside the box. Opening and closing the doors affects the volume.

Curatorial team member, Brianna Cross, describes Mamie McFaddin's wedding to Carroll Ward in May of 1919. The two were married in the home's pink parlor where a reception followed.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mamie McFaddin's wedding.

Video Transcript:
In 1919, the Pink Parlor housed a momentous occasion — the wedding of Mamie McFaddin to her husband Carroll Ward. According to an article we have from the Beaumont Enterprise, “the house was adorned with gold and blossoms… and Mamie bloomed in a gown of ivory satin with tulle elaborations.” Mamie descended the front staircase, and the ceremony was held here in the Pink Parlor. Following the ceremony, a lavish reception was held for guests at the home. Mamie and her husband were married for 42 years, and represent a continuation of status and society that the McFaddin family built for Beaumont.