The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

s/n 5897

Someone is going to get a great deal.

was anyone able to get a hold of these people? I emailed them twice and included my phone number almost a week ago and I got nothing back. Did someone buy this already?

Yes and it wasn’t easy to get. First I sent 3 emails and never got a response. Then a TMF member told me someone they knew got it. Then a deer ran out in front of the buyer’s car, so they had to back out of buying it to cover car repairs. That was were I got the seller’s phone number. But by the time they returned my message, I had driven all the way from the east coast to Missouri, so I drove back to Maryland before heading home to Florida to get this “good deal”. Then I discovered it was in the basement. It took three backward running starts to get my van up the wet grass hill to the very angled side yard. Then my rear tire dug a deep hole which took a crew to dig out.

Wayne,
If anyone can bring this back to life, it is you. Please post more pictures and how it turns out after you go through it. Was there a brass reproducer on it? Record loader?
Congrats!!!
Ken

Victrola-Monkey wrote:Yes and it wasn’t easy to get. First I sent 3 emails and never got a response. Then a TMF member told me someone they knew got it. Then a deer ran out in front of the buyer’s car, so they had to back out of buying it to cover car repairs. That was were I got the seller’s phone number. But by the time they returned my message, I had driven all the way from the east coast to Missouri, so I drove back to Maryland before heading home to Florida to get this “good deal”. Then I discovered it was in the basement. It took three backward running starts to get my van up the wet grass hill to the very angled side yard. Then my rear tire dug a deep hole which took a crew to dig out.

Sounds like a heck of an experience! I’m glad it went to someone who will treat it with some love to bring it back. There will hopefully be another for me sometime!

Thanks Greg and Ken for your vote of confidence. I must say that the cabinet finish is in real bad shape. The seller took very strategic photos to hide that fact. Since I don’t have wood finish restoration skills and since I had previously purchased an empty cabinet in very good condition, I have moved the hardware over to make the best of things.

The Maryland VE 10-50 does have the record loader but no brass reproducer. It is one from a portable instead. Being a 1927 machine, the brass ones would not have come with any of these phonographs. It would have been the fourth cherry on the cake if it had been upgraded with one. The first three cherries were of course the record loader, the very nice set of album boxes, and the operator’s manual. This machine is a Late style, which is easily distinguishable by the overhead lamp and that the changer side back panel comes off before the hornside backpanel, instead of visa verse of the Early/Mid. However, the wood motor board lacks the metal dust plate below the record turntable, as well as the screw holes used to hold it down. Nor is the changer itself a Late style. Also, the cable harness was modified. Lastly, the wood motor board is missing its 4 hold down screws. All of which indicates to me that there was a swap out of the original Late style changer and the wood motor board with an Early/Mid style at some point of its life. Every aspect of the rest of the phonograph is there to indicate it is truly a Late style.

Is there any reason someone would make the switch? Are the early changers more reliable or easy to repair? Seems like a heck of a change for no reason. And I’m sorry to hear about the cabinet finish, those people really took nice photos I guess.

Good luck,
Greg