The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

This was in the sitting room in the hotel I stayed at in Rome. Don't know much about it. Seems to be a shortwave radio. Did not see frequencies indicated on the dial but names of towns such as Bari. Circassian walnut or some sort of burl veneer? Didn't examine it that closely as prima colazione was calling: salsicce secca, cornetti, dolce, prosciutto crudo, pane, formaggio, caffe (americano, espresso, cappuccino et alia, frutta fresca e secca--even eggs and bacon!)

Is that a modern "retro" piece? Just wondered, since the remote seems strangely out of place...

PS: You're making me hungry...

A very interesting setup, made with a mix & match of parts, probably by a local craftsmen as was customary at the times (his label is on the turntable board, but the picture is too small to read).

The radio is definitely a Geloso, possibly off-brand (they used to sell components also to third parties, making large profits). It's a one mid-wave band plus four shortwave bands receiver. You don't see frequencies because scales were in meters at the time. The TV set looks like an Allocchio Bacchini product, or possibly a Geloso again.

I hope you enjoyed your stay in Rome!

Actually flew into Fiumicino and stayed in Rome only one night. The next day we took a train to Firenze, where I am now. Wednesday, we drop my daughter off at the scuola where she will study for one semester. Then my wife and I return to Rome for three nights, then head home.

I hope to see some antique shops in Rome. I would really like to see some European machines. To me their design represents a different spirit.

But today it was the Uffizi Gallery where we saw, amongst many things (Botticelli, Carrevaggio, Rafaello, and so many more), the now restored Adoration of the Magi by Leonardo.

jboger wrote: I hope to see some antique shops in Rome. I would really like to see some European machines. To me their design represents a different spirit.

If you want to see (really impressive) European machines, you need to go to the Phonogalerie in Paris (rue Pigalle, very lively in the evening). There is also a specialized shop in Berlin. All you are likely to find elsewhere in antique shops and flea markets are reproductions - in Rome, Berlin, Paris, London etc

But real art is everywhere, especially in Rome, you step and walk on it, so forget gramophones and enjoy la dolce vita!

Fully agree with Carlos: absolutely nothing to be seen "in the wild" in Europe in general, and especially in Italy: the last country you would like to visit, if you're seeking for gramophones.

I instead suggest you take a trip to Bologna and visit the Museo Pelagalli "Mille voci mille suoni". I haven't been there yet, but judging by its website it looks very promising:

www.museopelagalli.com

Yes, I have forgotten about phonographs and am enjoying life here in Rome with my wife and now just my son as we left my daughter in Firenze. The food has been very good, both in Rome and Firenze. It has been at least 20 years since I last visited Rome, back when it was the lire and not the euro. I once used to visit the L'Aquila area about five times a year, near a place called the Gran Sasso in the Abruzzo province. I have many good memories of those days.

Still the phonographs are like a siren. Each night I look at the Forum to see if anyone has written anything new. And I look at the auctions in my area back in the States just to convince myself that I am not missing anything by being here.