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I recently bought a Gramophone Co. Ltd. De Luxe III model from a fellow collector here in germany, who reduces his collection due to age.

The model De Luxe III is relatively rare and is one of the top-of-the-line machines of that time. In the UK it was not officially available, it is more of a kind of export model or it was available in various branches of the Gramophone Company. According to His Masters Gramophone (HMG book), it can be found in various overseas catalogs, including Germany, Egypt and India. Here https://grammophon-platten.de/e107_plug ... 38731.post you will find a german version of the De Luxe III.

The model shown here has instead of a G&T or the right-angled Gramophone Co. decals a "Nipper on red base" decal with the slogan "His Master Voice". It must therefore come from the transitional period, when the brand name "His Master Voice" was introduced - ie approx. 1909/1910
According to HMG, the De Luxe III was equipped with a brass or nickel-plated morning glory horn. In Germany and Egypt it was available with a mahogany wood grained horn. The machine shown here has an original HMV Speartip horn in mahogany.

The serial number does not give out a stamp in the wood of the baase, but there is a small label on the inside of the base. There are no other letters or numbers found on it. Therefore, of course, the question is on which country the machine originates from.

The seller bought the machine in that condition from a well-known British dealer over 25 years ago. He has received the information that it would be an Indian model which was produced in the UK for export. If it would be an indian model, then the base would have been presumably already manufactured in India, because the Gramophone Company already built in 1908 production facilities for the production of gramophones and records in Sealdah / Calcutta. However, the general condition of the machine is so good that i can not imagine a use in tropical conditions as well as a return to GB. I'll try to find out something from the british dealer, as long as he still remembers the deal and the provenance of the machine.


Additions, illustrations and advices on the possible country of origin are welcome! Maybe someone owns a catalog from Egypt or India or another country where the machine was offered.

Just like a model 7a ( if i remember model designation correctly ) with bling added to it. Certainly enhances the appearance. Never seen or heard of one in Australian.
Thanks for sharing the pictures
Stephen

Very pretty!
Thanks for the pictures and information!
Bob

Surely a "Hen's Teeth" item? It might only be a 7A with added "bling" to some but it's a stunning machine in astonishingly good condition. If it was a Victor equivalent the added bling would unquestionably raise its value profile to a stratospheric level. Ironically, it will be a lot rarer than the rarest Victor model too.

Only two UK dealers could have sold that 25 years ago and only one of them is currently still in the business. His stuff is never usually in good condition so that narrows it down a bit! Congratulations on a fine purchase!

PS - it was made in India. If you look closely at the top hinged motor-board, you will notice that it has a different thickness and edge profile to the 'standard' 7/7A mahogany UK model. This raises another question though: is the cabinet in fact mahogany stained TEAK (it looks like it to me in one photograph)? They used teak in India, rarely mahogany.

Is the ornamental metalwork brass or a gilded base metal?

Thanks for the comments and hints.

The motorboard is in my opinion exactly as with other images of this type.
The base is made of shelled mahogany and the metal ornaments are made of fire-gilded bronze.

Compared to the German models of this type, this one has no stamped figures. There is also no dealer.
Regarding the possible indian origin: one of the first dealers in India was Manick Lal Saha, who produced and marketed gramophones in Calcutta from 1904 onwards. These machines usually have a decal (look here: https://grammophon-platten.de/e107_plug ... .php?35264)
Of course it can also come from another dealer there or not at all from India.

budsta wrote:Just like a model 7a ( if i remember model designation correctly ) with bling added to it. Certainly enhances the appearance. Never seen or heard of one in Australian.
Thanks for sharing the pictures
Stephen

Bling......Yes, one needs to be careful, as you see in the pic. If its valuable someone will make a copy to make a fast buck. The one for sale in this auction is the obvious round C-phone.

Jacob Black. Could you please post a close up photo of the gilded decoration.

Here is a photo of the gilded decorations.

The gramophone is undoubtedly genuine. Here is a photo from the German (DGAG) catalog.

The photo from eBay shows next to the Crapophone obviously an authentic base of a De Luxe III.

I didn't do this job to get money. I had such jewelry and a completely destroyed box.I was helped by a colleague from Austria with the size.And I did completely identical the gramophone.

What I meant was that about 5 years ago when the crapo + de luxe from Asia appeared on ebay I asked the seller what the deal was with the de luxe. He said that he was making them to order. The price was quite high so that may be a barrier.

I^m travelling but will post a pic of mine when home