The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

2Bdecided wrote:There is a tiny thumbnail picture still available for that last eBay auction. It does not show up by default so here it is:

130866057519_0.jpg

If it is the same horn, it seems it was made for a phonograph and has had both ends cut off for use with an EMG. Strange if so, as you would expect it to be valuable in its own right.

Cheers,
David.

Its not the same horn as in the little picture.That ones got a better outer edge..

Burtemg wrote:More photo's

i have seen this machine in the collection of my friend jelle attema from the gramophone shop (j;attema@gramophoneshop.nl)its really nice and sounds great!

enjoy the [crappy] video i made of it we also f##ked up the video of a class m the damn thing just din't wanna cooperate greetings from the netherlands
tino

Here is the description of the Wonderphone horn sold at Christie's on July 31 1996:

'A large papier-mache horn, with pie-crust edge, support pivot and ivorine label The Scientific Wonderphone, Makers & Patentees, The Oxford Camera & Gramophone CO., London, in fitted basket with compartment for (?) soundbox -- the horn 45 in. (115cm.) long.' (the hammer price was £95)

The basket was made for it, not for a phonograph horn. I can't remember if the basket already had a paper covering (I doubt it), but maybe some did, and this strange-looking basket work horn is just a case for a horn that someone has tried to use as a horn. I think there was one other Wonderphone horn in a Christie's sale, but I can't remember when. I was always puzzled by the that that the 'Wonderphone' only ever seemed to appear as a horn, although contemporary advertisements made it sound like a complete machine. I have never seen an ad. with an illustration, however. The price suggests that a horn, perhaps with a soundbox, was all you got!

Apologies, there seem to be two separate threads on this topic, and I forgot about the picture from Wireless Magazine in the other thread. This clearly shows a basket-weave horn, but the one at Christie's was just like a Wilson papier-applique horn, in a basket.

If you look at the whole page of the WM PDF, you see that it is an article by Barnett on buying for Christmas, and there is nothing to indicate that he had anything to do with the Wonderphone, beyond the fact that, knowing him, he probably had or he would not have mentioned it!

Oedipus wrote:Here is the description of the Wonderphone horn sold at Christie's on July 31 1996:

'A large papier-mache horn, with pie-crust edge, support pivot and ivorine label The Scientific Wonderphone, Makers & Patentees, The Oxford Camera & Gramophone CO., London, in fitted basket with compartment for (?) soundbox -- the horn 45 in. (115cm.) long.' (the hammer price was £95)

The basket was made for it, not for a phonograph horn. I can't remember if the basket already had a paper covering (I doubt it), but maybe some did, and this strange-looking basket work horn is just a case for a horn that someone has tried to use as a horn. I think there was one other Wonderphone horn in a Christie's sale, but I can't remember when. I was always puzzled by the that that the 'Wonderphone' only ever seemed to appear as a horn, although contemporary advertisements made it sound like a complete machine. I have never seen an ad. with an illustration, however. The price suggests that a horn, perhaps with a soundbox, was all you got!

I did see an add with an illustration when I was looking for information concerning the other thread a few days ago. Sadly I lost the web connection and haven't found it since. I will keep looking. I think the illustration was two horns with two men standing next to them. What else was shown / stated sadly eludes my memory.