General Information

Serial #

343

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

RCA Victor radio-phonograph stereo made of a dark red wood (mohagany possible) with two gold handles located on front top left and right of console. Handle on the proper right side opens a compartment containing the phonograph unit to play vynil records, the handle on the proper left opens the compartment containing a radio. Fabric on front portion of the console is a gold-beige color and made of a rough/thick fabric. Speakers have gold coloured metal accents on the front of them. Back of radio component is covered with a thin plywood piece, back of record component is open revealing electrical cords/components

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

98.0 cm

Width

45.0 cm

Height

83.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Communications

Category

Sound

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

RCA

Country

Canada

State/Province

Québec

City

Montréal

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

ca. 1958-2002

Canada

The turning plate of this console stereo displays three words: Stereo, Orthophonic and High Fidelity. These words encapsulate the related themes of high fidelity and stereo sound reproduction that are identified in "Sound Recording in Canada: An Historical Assessment." The oldest term, 'orthophonic", was coined by Victor Talking Machine in the 1920s for its high-end line of phonographs designed to play its new electrical recordings. "High fidelity" came into use in the 1930s to describe sound reproductionwith superior noise performance and frequencyresponse. It emerged as a popular term after the Second World War, when consumption of high quality audio equipment assumed a significant degree of social prestige, which expanded the market both for the equipment and the necessary recordings. Initially limited to the wealthy or the technically adept, by the mid-1950s this trend began to spread to the middle class. The third term "stereo", referes to the spatial illusion of directional sound achieved by recording and playing back two audio channels. The introduction of the first industry standard for "stereophonic" LP disks in 1958 provided a new impetus to sales of consumer electronics. Prior to that year stereophonic sound recordings were only available for purchase on reel-to-reel tape, a medium that appealed to some audiophiles but was never accepted by most mainstream record buyers. As television sales levelled off after the opening of stations in most major Canadian cities by 1955, domestic consumer electronics manufacturers increasingly turned to "Hi-Fi" production to maintain their home entertainment sales. Although the SHC463 does provide a jack where the owner may connect a tape recorder, this model was clearly built with the assumption that the purchaser would be primarily using it for passive listening, either of records or the radio, rather than for creating his or her own recordings. Through until the end of the 1960s, Canadian makers like RCA Victor and Dominion Electrohome produced thousands of integrated stereo radio-phonographs housed in large consoles designed to conform to the decor of middle class living rooms. Late 1960s, fashions shifted to functional-looking component systems, often packaged by retailers from a variety of offshore manufacturers. RCA Victor Co. Ltd. was for many years one of Canada's oldest and most important manufacturers of home entertainment equipment. It was established by Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone, in Montreal in 1899. In 1929 the company, by then known as Victor Talking Machine Co. of Canada, was included in the takeover of its parent company by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Subsequently the Canadian subsidiary was known as RCA Victor Co. Ltd. It continued to manufacture products at its Montreal plant in St. Henri until the early 1970s. Like most Canadian consumer electronics manufacturers, RCA Victor was driven from the mass market by the wave of inexpensive components imported from Japan in the 1970s. This stereo was purchased in Montreal around 1958 by Mr. Mrs. Meyer (Mac) Cohen. It was located in their apartment of more than thirty years, 10-2865 Darlington Place, Côte-des-Neiges until 2002. Subsequently, Mrs. Cohen, widowed since 1990, moved to Ottawa and the stereo was relocated to the basement of her granddaughter, Valerie Angus.

Function

Receive broadcast radio and play back vynil disk recording

Technical

Introduced in 1958, the same year that the Recording Industry Association of America agreedon a standard for stereo disc recording, the SHC463, was one of the first models of stereo radio-phonographs available in Canada. In addition to the stereo disk playback feature, SHC463 represents several other important technological developments of the post-Second World War period. First, the SHC463 includes not only an AM record tuner, but also one for FM. Since its introduction in 1940, Frequency Modulation had been promoted for transmissions that provided better sound quality than Amplitude Modulation. FM signals featured less noise , distortion and interference. They also had a wider bandwidth, which permitted stations to transmit a broader band of audio frequencies and eventually to broadcast in stereo, rather than mono, which was the standard for AM. The turntable of the SHC463, meanwhile, offers four playback speeds, an artifact of the confused situation for disk recordings, where, since the 1948, the old 78 rpm disks had been joined by 45 rpm singles, 33.3 rpm long playing (LP) disks and 16rpm disks for "talking books." The LP in particular had quickly become the preferred disk medium for lovers of classical, operatic and other orchestral music. Finally, the SHC463 has a jack enabling the owner to connect a magnetic tape recorder or tape deck, a technology that had been available on the North American consumer market since 1947 and had achieved some popularity with audiophiles.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On radio side, under hood plate reads in gold cursive script "Stereo, Orthophonic and High Fidelity"/ Beside radio dial: reads in cursive script "Stereo/ Orthographic/ High Fedelity"/ Back of console, proper left side, upper left corner, a pale beige label reads "THE SHERIDAN"/ Back of console, proper left side under above label, a forest green label with beige boarder reads "MODEL SHC463/ SERIAL No. 343/ AMPS 12/ VOLTS 105/125 CYCLES 60/ MADE IN CANADA/ RCA VICTOR COMPANY LTD./ MONTREAL, CANADA"/ *See Supp. Info for images of all markings*

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Varnished rich dark red-brown wood console with gold coloured metal handles and decor/accents throughout. Fabric in front of the speakers are a beige color with gold metal accents.

Decoration

N/A