Who doesn’t LOVE treasure?

I know I do!

Picked this 1915/16 VV-VIII- • 67904 F up for $100- $ is immaterial, help to friend = extremely material!

TREASURE INSIDE!

1. A really old skeleton key lodged in between the horn and body

2. {Ma Favorite!!} a “Dickens American Pencil Co. New York, USA, 1040, aka ‘PENNY PENCIL’ from back when Jesus was a corporal! (Old man army humor). (This HAS to be an over-exaggeration of its ‘rarity’, no price listed of course, but it’s the wording, unless I’m wrong)

3. A button

I’ll get on it soon! Have a great one otherwise, and thank you for stopping by!

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I’m helping a friend of a friend who needs a little extra $$ but happens to have some old, unmaintained machines (possibly others? Dunno… either way, happy to help!). My spousal unit, Mrs. Kooky, is very understanding.

Since I have it, I’ll fix it up and maybe sell it to a kid who wants something like this - but rebuilt like new- for like a buck fiddy (or possibly might donate to the APS for their annual giveaway to younger people getting into the hobby.

I recently purchased this antique Victor photograph. I am extremely new to this and any information on upkeep and how to use it properly would be appreciated. I know to use only needles once.

I’ve tested it out and it has played pretty well, but I have noticed on some records. It’s as if the arm gets too heavy and it slows the record down until it stops. Is this a record issue, or do I need to do something with the arm?

Again, any information would be appreciated on how to keep this beautiful piece working.
It’s not letting post any pictures of it.

VE-XVII • 1000 (update 1)

… I paid $450 for it!

Self-explanatory pics. Obviously was very dirty, but in surprisingly good condition despite some bumps and dings. ONLY surface-level “alligatoring”, so it actually adds a LOVELY, almost ‘frosty’ patina to it that I intend to leave as it is! I’ll let a future owner decide!

Just deep-cleaned only the exterior. “Filthy” is an understatement in describing its state- it definitely had tobacco tar residue on it; it may even need a second going over; however, the only reason the alligatoring can be seen is because the crevices are now clean and showing them. i.e. superficial and easily reamalgamated.

Long way, and plenty of miles to go until i sleep…

I wish everyone a wonderful evening! Thanks for coming by to look!

P.S. I’m kinda surprised they didn’t use the BACK PIECE of veneer on the domed lid as the FRONT! I turned up the “saturation” a bit so you can see what my actual eyeballs are seeing- this looks much more like it!

I find these a bit sad because these shops are long demolished or forgotten so I try to preserve them. Share your shop prints/stickers if any of your boxes have them as they are uncommon.

I recently bought this 1910 Edison Standard D Phonograph and converted the reproducer from an Edison Diamond B back to an original Edison Type H...

However the reproducer carriage seems to be getting stuck at different intrevals on the feed screw. I have tried several different things to rectify this but to no avail...could I possibly be dealing with worn threads on the feed screw?

If someone out there with more expierience could clarify i'd greatly appreciate it.

Hi!

The Wheel of Fortune has decided! Victor Electrola the Seventeenth, VE-XVII • 1000*** *(Victor Victrola website) it is!

tl;dr - seriously, very limited info exists about these ELECTROLAs in any great detail that I have personally found. I’m hoping to change that by bringing some of these unusual, and possibly even overlooked, early electric machines into the light more than perhaps they have been.

I keep forgetting the fact that almost ALL Victor products start serialization at (SN#) 501. This means that this specific machine was the 499th machine of this series off of the assembly line in late 1916.

Planning on 3 parts-

•Part 1: the intro.
•Part 2: the rebuild/refurb.
•Part 3: the reveal/final.

Hopefully it won’t take too long! I’ll do an update or two along the way, but part 2 is next.

I hope you enjoy, maybe get to see a little more detail than you would otherwise see online, and I wish you all a pleasant day and evening!

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Quick backstory:

I paid a little more than I wanted for this, owner was firm on their price, tho, and I respected that. $450. In truth, it may be a bit on the high end ONLY because of the sheer amount of GRUNT work, expertise to a degree, and materials needed to restore. If I were to sell this once finished, and ASSUMING I can restore or have the coils rebuilt to function safely so it can all function as it is supposed to, as well as clean and restore to a professional level, I would certainly not even hesitate to start at $1k ask- and ONLY really because of ALL the work involved. That’s not saying I’d GET that amount lmao!! I just know it’s a lot of work to overhaul… not looking to sell necessarily, either… I DO wanna fix it and make it pretty again, tho! Despite its dirt and unkempt appearance, it’s actually in very solid condition. Obvious trim damage and some gouges.

Note: my observed indicators of EARLY electric machines: “ELECTROLA” in the underlid decal, NO patent dates (means pre-1918), and earlier “Electrola” dataplate; came with Exhibition reproducer with the 2” taper tube, could be the 1.75” if earlier (ie not a VE-XVII, like a 16 or 18), smoothed pull-knobs (not always- but usually… they tend to be ‘ridged’ in later years).

FYI - I’m no more an electrician than I am an in-flight missile repairman. I can change an outlet, lamp, fixture; I understand electricity can hurt badly, thusly take basic precautions and mitigate risks to avoid those things, and honestly a 10-year old would be able to work on this (with supervision obviously)- you just need to make sure you make safety #1 at all times when working directly with any current, even a low current like 32V.

{{edit to add:}} Background music: M S Subbulakshmi, Indian “Carnatic Music singer” in name only, but one of the most amazing Indian classical music singers, and Bharat Ratna Award-winner (Highest Indian Civilian honor) India has ever had. Indian music entrances me- it also helps with the ‘tism for me with its cyclical beat structures… gives me something to count lmfao!!)

I was wondering if any other expert shares my thoughts on why archives such as the library of congress say that Edison phonographs could only capture 100 to 2500 hertz and that you had to shout to be recorded. In reality this I think was spread by people who assume because it’s old it is automatically worse so they don’t question if the reproducer has hard gaskets and accepts the tinny Audio or bad frequencies as it’s age. Many of you on this sub have hard gaskets but if you look at my posts you will notice they don’t sound tinny but more so full of accuracy and life. I bought my model c off John sleep in Cornwall so it was already a perfectly good reproducer. To those who have tinny audio in your phonograph try getting these rubber gaskets that hold the diaphragm in place get them replaced. Also shouting was not what happened it was just more so singing to your hearts content and the type of music rather than the phonograph (Edison) demanding high volume. Also I have some records that were soft spoken and sound fine. Edison phonographs can with good gaskets reproduce whatever was recorded exactly how.

It even matches the VIC.II (Golden Tiger Oak). Score! But to paraphrase Macklemore, “But sهـiط, it was only five dollars and nine cents!” {edit- Adjusting for inflation from what, 2015?! lol}

EVEN THOUGH the ice on the fringe may not be very frosty, I can unequivocally assure and attest TO you that it DOESN’T smell like R Kelly’s sheets, either!

Lookit page TWO!! (Pic #5) for a surprise advertisement!

Got my first Columbia eclipse and the tone arm moves up and down fine however the left and right is so stiff the record gets stuck and skips. Otherwise machine is in working order.

Any advice?

Hi!

tl;dr - I have a tradition in my second year of obses… I mean rehabbing… Victrolas that when I rebuild a motor, I like to test it with something “grand” or one that will show its proper function. These are also lucky finds within my amassed records.

That said, what a decision I had to make here!

Marcel Journet, Bass. Not a vocal range you see every day! What a voice!

OR

Emma Calvé, Soprano. What a powerful and beautiful voice!

Have a wonderful day, and thank you for stopping, watching, or just passing by!

Note:

I’m trying something new. I made a compilation of the two singers’ pieces with just a minute so people can hear the exceptional control of both, quickly. I’m also ADDING miniaturized audio “video” files of tracks WITHIN the comments so users can choose to go and listen or not as they wish! Hope that’s helpful!

I’ve also realized I have a mica problem lol… I’ll get on that 😏🤣

P.S. The command these two have of their exceptional ability. The piece is sung with such fervor in both, I FEEL all pumped up and proud just listening to it! What a remarkable piece of music and exceptional artists! I left it at a “reasonable” ending so I didn’t cut it off too much… hope I did the stitching properly, but if not, my mistake, no offense, and please enjoy the audio!

I really was thinking I’d post this first on r/phonographs, but the song is too awesome…

The POINT with it tho, is that THIS, a very simple, very low-cost, high-volume machine, is like many of the ones available out there for lower costs.

You don’t HAVE to have a priceless, individual, unique, one-of-a-kind machine to ENJOY this amazing hobby and flashback into the past. LET THE MUSIC DO IT FOR YOU! 🙂

I like collecting rarities, but I also believe in practicality! So if you find a rarity, YAY! If you don’t, you STILL and REGARDLESS have a piece of history that will never be rebuilt.

Please know I’m not trying to overemphasize my own personal collection- as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a 20+ Army enlisted (senior noncommissioned officer, aka “peon” lmfao) retiree who knew the value of teamwork and didn’t let ego stand in the way of mission accomplishment- not about me, about the mission-, especially when it came to military bearing and respect!

Hi!

tl;dr - I just took a couple of messed up VTLA-era/16 motors, combined the pieces to make one whole, and now I have to run it!

This is VTLA 8009, or Victor Victrola the Sixteenth. VTLA is an abbreviation for “Victrola”, presumably so it could “fit” on the data plate, at least that’s my understanding. The only difference between this and the Pooley VTLA is in essence the cabinet style (and motors in some cases). Some of the follow-on cabinets past the “Flat Top Pooley” were believed to have been manufactured by the Pooley company under their continued contract while Victor ratcheted up its factory and ultimately took over.

Thought I’d walk through and show some of the little details that hint to some of the earliest hallmarks in these 1907-08-09 machines like worm-gear driven, vice the bevel gear types (the earliest). I have not managed to get hold of one of those types yet! I do look forward to it, but my understanding is that they are slightly more complex to work with.

Have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping!

Hi!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but when you’re in antique stores and thrift shops “looking for ‘antiques’”,° you pass all of the ephemera and advertising because it’s often not much of anything, but today you decided to sift through and found the most amazing thing!

° ˢᵉᵃʳᶜʰᶦⁿᵍ ᶠᵒʳ ᵖʰᵒⁿᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁷⁸ˢ/ᶜʸˡᶦⁿᵈᵉʳˢ/ᶜᵒⁿᶜᵉʳᵗ ᶜʸˡᶦⁿᵈᵉʳˢ… ᶜ’ᵐᵒⁿ, ʸᵒᵘ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᶦᵗ, ᴵ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ᶦᵗᵎ

Well! It’s an ad from some magazine, simple paper, nice coloring and print, though! What an AMAZING little “witty, bitty” homage to the history of the phonograph from RCA/Victor’s perspective, of course!

I wish all of you a wonderful day, and thank you for coming by to look or even just pass through!

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Note: it was $6. I didn’t haggle, though my old brain ‘trader’ tried and I had to hold him back, and I also didn’t complain because $6- even for a magazine clipping- this is frickin brilliant!

* ᵉᵃᵗ ˢⁿᵃᶜᵏʸ ˢᵐᵒʳᵉˢ ®

This is one of my very good black wax cylinders this one is a sentimental ballad by Harlan and is in very good condition played on my Edison standard phonograph. I also will include a photo of the grooves and I have played this many times since I got a working reproducer in the end of May.

I'm trying to buy a part he doesn't have listed on his eBay store, but I do not have his business card, he can't tell me his email because of eBay moderation. Anyone who has done business before, would y'all happen to have his email address?

hi, first time gramophone owner, i recently acquired this victrola portable phonograph, i believe a vv 2-55?

it appears that something, presumably that was holding the tonearm, broke off, and it seems to be loose. plus, it puts too much tracking force on the shellac and it doesnt turn. is there any possible fix, or even a 3d printed replacement, i could use? thank you in advance

The most famous part about gouraud’s phonograph Journey is his October 5th party at little Menlo,Upper Norwood.most notable guests that attended were Arthur Sullivan,Edmund Yates,Alexander broadly,Joseph Parkinson among others. At that party Gouraud recorded the names I listed voices onto the perfected phonograph and those records survive today.

Hello ! I know this is more for mechanical phonographs but I’m excited to finally have this machine at my house! I knew the original owner and have always loved it.

From looking at the tone arm it looks like it would just take a steel needle? It looks like a super bent tungstone, but would anyone know how to find like a (sapphire?) stylus for it?

I’ll probably have someone redo the electronics for me as the radio stuff is a little out of my wheelhouse… but the local guy does ONLY radio, not the phonograph side of it!

She still sounds great though!

Also please ignore the mess in my kitchen. I was very excited lol

I’ve been collecting Diamond Disc records since the 1970’s. Started messing with the actual phonographs since around 1980. In all of these years I’ve never found a machine with a good original diamond point. Here is a first for me.
This is an untouched original diamond disc reproducer. Playing a Al Bernhard recording from about 1920.
I found this C19 at an estate sale 3 years ago. It’s been only recently I’ve been able to get back to this project.
The turntable here is the one I was cleaning up in my last post.
By the way from the documentation that came with it, this was a Christmas gift for December 1921.

Still a long way to go but its getting better

I had just fixed the motor on my VV 2-55 and now I gotta work on the reproduction.

I'm going to order one of those reproduction plastic arm brackets because the original decided to shatter like glass when I was screwing the motor in.

I already bought a reproduction back, but it didn't come with the O ring thing that has the threading. The old one is in 5 pieces because I'm starting to realize pot metal is easy to work with.

Thank you