Conversation so far:
What year was the Phonograph brought to the United States?
In American English, phonograph, was used in a generic sense as early as the 1890s.
How did people like the Phonograph?
Portable record players, with a latched cover and an integrated power amplifier and loudspeaker, were becoming popular especially in schools and for use by children and teenagers.

Question: did they sell a lot?
Self-contained rewrite: Did the Phonograph sell a lot?