Kōrero: Recording companies and studios

This well-appointed phonograph parlour was operated by Andrew Balting at Hardy Street, Nelson, about 1910. On the walls are racks containing hundreds of wax cylinder recordings. At the rear are several phonographs for playing them. Chairs along the walls allowed customers to hear the cylinders before purchasing them. In the following decade, phonograph cylinders were replaced by 78-rpm records. These were more durable and gave improved sound quality.