When the musical instrument manufacturers Barnett Samuel and Sons patented the portable gramophone 'Decca Dulcimer' in 1914, they had no idea they were laying the foundation for a hugely successful company—one whose name, DECCA, would endure through history to this very day.

In 1928, the company was renamed The Decca Gramophone Co. Ltd., and its musical instrument division was sold off. A year later, Decca Gramophone was acquired by Edward Lewis, the founder of Decca Records.

From that era, this black suitcase-style gramophone has survived, serving as a tangible reminder of the years when DECCA was barely a teenager.