Berliner Gramophone formulations remained the standard disc record material until the first vinyl records – initially made only for radio use and other special applications – were introduced in the 1930s. Beginning in 1896, Berliner's gramophones were made by Philadelphia-based machinist Eldridge Johnson, who added a spring motor to drive the previously hand-rotated turntable. Berliner also opened an office in New York City, staffed by Frank Seaman and O. D. LaDow and organized as the National Gramophone Company. Master recordings were made onto zinc plates, which were then electroplated and a negative-image "mother" made from them to stamp discs. A major reversal
Unusual types of gramophone records with the usual address and greeting space on one side and an illustration on the other. The illustration was overlaid with a transparent plastic material into which the grooving was impressed. The recording was usually musical as the name implies. They typically played at 45 RPM. It was recommended to not write on them with a ball point pen, an invention which was just coming into common use at that time. Laminated cardboard records have been produced as integral promotional novelties on packaging, most notably on the backs of cereal boxes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beginning in