"Max and Arthur are friends who share an interest in painting. Arthur is an accomplished painter; Max is a beginner. Max's first attempt at using a paintbrush sends the two friends on a whirlwind trip through various artistic media, which turn out to have unexpected pitfalls. Although Max is inexperienced, he's courageous and a quick learner. His energy and enthusiasm bring the adventure to its triumphant conclusion. Beginners everywhere will take heart." The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Art's (Arthur's) first painting shown in this book is a scene of Art working on a portrait. The portrait painted by Art doesn't include the gramophone but David Wiesner's illustration includes the scene of Max bursting through to admire the work done by Art and a gramophone with a blue horn and record albums behind he machine.

For Friends of the Phonograph the blue horn gramophone is the star of the book and the reason this book of on Phonographia's bookshelf of PhonoLiterature.

 

 

This book, of course, offers more than an illustration of a gramophone. The opening panorama shows Max's enthusiasm for learning how to paint followed up with themes of what is art, how to create art and the adventures they share.

The final page includes the gramophone, a bookend to the opening page of this beautifully illustrated book.