This diminutive and very decorative little Graphophone was an upscaled version of the very inexpensive openworks Type B Eagle. Priced at $18 and fitted with a 10" nickel-plated horn, the Columbia Type AA used the same tiny motor as the Type B, but the ornately carved cabinet and decorated nickel upper works gave this tiny Graphophone a much more elegant appearance than its bare-bones brother. Aside from the nickel plated bedplate, the sides of the topworks were damaskeened in a 'perlage' pattern, which was a surprising touch of elegance for such an inexpensive machine. Instead of a winding key as on the Type B, the AA has a conventional crank. However this slip-on crank turns counterclockwise as the machine is running and falls off easily.

The picture may be somewhat misleading when viewed on a screen. It is easy to mentally scale it up to match more familiar Graphophones like the AT, which has similar cabinet decoration. In reality, the AA is even smaller than the Type B 'Eagle' (an inch narrower) though it is obviously taller. Its surprisingly tiny size is its most appealing attribute. It is one of the rare antique phonographs that can be called 'cute.'

Catalogued only in 1901 and 1902, the Type AA was meant as a mid-market machine priced between the $12 cased Eagle and the $25 AT. However in 1902 Columbia lowered the price of the AT to $20. With its larger cabinet and much more powerful motor it completely overshadowed the AA, which suddenly didn't seem like much of a bargain at all. The AA is consequently fairly scarce today. It is a charming example of the gingerbread Victorian styling that distinguished Columbia Graphophones from the late 1890s to the early 1900s.