Antique windup phonograph

[Bernice]

I have an old record player that says Waters Conley Company Rochester Minnesota. It has the directions for use on the lid. It is from the military and is painted military green. It has a compartment that contains 7 needles. The lid to the compartment is a small magnifying glass. On the outside and inside of the lid is a stamp that says Special Service, U S Army. The speed indicator goes from F - S (I assume Fast to Slow). It has a leather carrying handle. My husband remembers listening to it as a young boy and he is 65. He believes it may have come from a relative who served in WWI or WWII. We can not find a serial number or any type of date on it. IT WORKS! Can Anyone give me any information as to how old it is and its possible value?

[estott]

World War II to Korean War era. It's pretty much the same as the civilian portables made by the same company but with a much stronger case. They are very interesting but not rare- many were made and I think there must have been a surplus after the was as some of the ones I've seen do not appear to have been issued, let alone gone through a war. It's a very nice item and would go nicely with a set of 1940's records.

[phonophan79]

These machines are interesting because mechanically they are nothing special. As noted, take away the military hard shell and you have a plain and low end phonograph... so the value comes from its history of being a war-era machine. As goes with anything, the value is what someone will pay for it... and depending on its condition I've seen these machines range from $200-$400... but take just a non-military Waters-Conley phonograph (which has the same hardware), and I often see them for less than $100.

...but I have one because I like WWII era memorabilia and phonographs, so it's two different areas to my liking.

[youtubehd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2d4pXq3shw[/youtubehd]

[brianu]

so, quick question... I know how a lot of people - record collectors particularly - are pretty careful to play certain records in certain ways on certain machines so as to achieve the proper sound results and avoid surface/groove wear (how some will only play their records on modern turntables, period; while others tend to play records from certain years only on machines from certain years). I also know that by the late 30s/early 40s or so, 78s were mostly manufactured with a less durable material that allowed for more wear when played with standard steel needles, and especially when using a standard acoustic reproducer/tonearm assembly (as would be found on a typical machine from the 19-teens and early 20s). nevertheless, records from that period would still have been played - and could correctly be played - on machines like these walters conleys and other late portables, despite the increased wear to the records...? I guess the main question is, people used these machines at the time despite the fact that they greatly shortened the life expectancy of the records?

[estott]

People used portables like this for convenience, it was still just about the only way to play records when you weren't near a power outlet. As to record wear I suspect it really wasn't much of an issue. People would take a portable out to play the latest hit records at a picnic and by the time the record wore out they'd probably lost interest in the tune, just like today you find last year's hit CD's at the bottom of the stack. Companies like Victor would talk endlessly about preserving records for ever but that was just for the classical stuff- they were hoping that you'd dump your old popular records and buy new ones.

[Bernice]

Thank you VV-IV : My record player is different than yours in that the needle compartment is on the opporsite side. I think mine is in as good or maybe even better condition than yours, but the sound is the same. It also does not have the little tag that is on the right side of your machine. My goodness, how things have changed in 70 years. We can now put on one small thing disc everything our grandparent (and parents) listened to in a day!! Thank you for sharing.

[tomb]

This is an old topic but I have a little to add to it. This week end I purchased a military ( 1944-1945) phonograph at the ARF swap meet. It is in excellent shape so I wanted to know more about it. There was a Maintenace tag screwed in the lid with the firm name of Waters Conley out of Minn. No model or serial number was attached which is unusual for anything made for the military. I pulled the turntable and also removed the motor assembly and still nothing. During the research I found two other companies that made almost identical phonographs.
One was Portelec mfd. by Pacific sound Co. in Hollwood Ca. It had a Maintenace tag like the Walters but also had a metal ID tag with the model ( 9C ) different stenciling , and serial number on it. It was looked fairly close to the Waters but had the same spring loaded crank storage hole on the left instead of the right. It seems to be a little rarer than the Waters.
Third company was L.M. Sedwick associates from Chicago. Similar to the other two but with different stenciling on the case I could not find a picture to see if there was an ID tag inside with the serial number and model number on it. The rear grill overing the sound box was a metal grill with small square holes in it. The other two had what looked like cloth covering a metal frame and grill. It was possible that the cloth had deteriorated and was gone. The crank holder was on the right and held down by a small metal strap. I also found reproduction Maintenace tags on E bay from France. Hopes this helps you.
Found the model number of the Waters. It is UWG-0148, stock number 36-P820.
I have found the fourth and fifth companies that made this type phonograph. No wonder there are so many of them.
Number four is the Plaza by Plaza manufacturing company New York, New York. The distinguishing trait was the Maintenace label was vertical on the left of the lid.
The fifth was made by Boetsch Bros. of New York city. New York. It is the only one with the handle on the front and not the side.
It seems like Waters flooded the market and there are fewer of the other manufactures. These are well made phonographs with very sturdy cases. Mine has a sitting musty smell that I need to air out. Tom

[Inigo]

Marvelous! And everything looks in good shape.

[estott]

Waters Conley made many machines under the "Phonola" trademark- Part of the firm was the Conley Mfg. Co. a major builder of cameras in the early 20th c. most of which were sold by Sears. They may have supplied some components to the Sears Silvertone phonographs.

[travisgreyfox]

Awesome record player Tom and thank you for sharing. I hope to eventually get my hands on one too one day.