What bells & whistles did the Victrola Florenza have?

[jimw156]

Total newbie here who just inherited a distant relative's Victrola Florenza. It still works, but sadly, some modifications have been done to it--specifically, the legs were removed and the Radiola 25 is missing.

My goal is to get this beauty back to its original state as much as possible. But since this appears to be a somewhat rare model, I'm having trouble finding pics of it online to help me see what all this came with. For example, the needle cups are intact and look to be original. But there are no metal inserts/tops that some other models had, so I'm not sure if the Florenza had them or not. Also, while the Radiola clearly sat on the top of the left side of the cabinet, the bottom left appears to have been reworked so as to put a shelf in there.

Any help would be appreciated! I can supply pics if that will help.

Thank you in advance!

[outune]

Here is a link to the Florenza page on the Victor-Victrola.com site-

http://victor-victrola.com/Florenza.htm


Brad Abell

[emerson]

What state are you in?

[jimw156]

Brad,

thanks for the link! Unfortunately, I'm looking more for what the inside looks like/contains. As I mentioned, the Radiola on the one I inherited is missing, so while I know it sat on the left side of the cabinet, I have no idea what the underside of the front left side looks like--mine is a big, blank space that looks like something was pulled out of it--more than just the radio. There also a door on the left side that clearly had something mounted to the inside, but it's missing--there's just an empty, sad square outline in the wood. ; (

[jimw156]

emerson, I'm in Ohio

[Skihawx]

My recollection is that the door on the left side contained the loop antenna. You positioned the door to point towards the station. I have 9-15 buried in the garage and it looks like a Florenza from the outside but has a Radiola 28 instead. And the loop antenna is controlled by a knob behind the left front door. the Florenza is oxidized bronze hardware. It is a battery operated radio so it would take 135 volts for the plate supply and a bunch of large 1.5 volt cells for the filaments. The was an RCA package to modify the 25 to run on AC and PHilco and others made power supplies. None of these parts or work is going to come quickly. There should ne a valve on the horn plumbing that allows an electronic horn driver to be connected to the horn. And there should be a driver as well. They used the old No.6 cells but I haven't seen them around for a while. If you are looking for the radio panel for looks I have seen them show up from time to time. What do you think happened to the legs?

[OrthoFan]

There are a few photos of a complete Florenza here http://victrolagramophones.proboards.co ... 1-florenza -- unfortunately, no interior shots.

Judging from the grille, this would have been fitted with the same folded horn used on the VV-8-4 -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/8-4.htm -- so it will have an impressive sound once restored.

OrthoFan

[emerson]

My Florenza is buried behind 6 big and heavy machines---have not seen it in probably 10 years? An original and I think complete---what is it worth to you and do you ever make it to New Jersey? ----Herb

[jimw156]

Skihawx,

LOTS of good stuff in your post! Thank you so much!

Yeah, the whole left side of the cabinet looks like it was gutted. And since the whole right side, the Victrola side, is in pristine, working condition, my guess is once the radio either stopped working or became too expensive to replace the parts, they took everything out.

And you're right: It would be a bit of a pain to get that radio back in and working, too. My goal is to simply find the top panel and perhaps the antenna, etc., back where they belong simply for an original "look".

As for the legs, I have no idea what happened to them. The previous owner kept pretty much everything, including the free 10-record Victor album they got when they purchased the Florenza. Even have envelopes of unopened needles. If the legs were made to be removed, which, based on the few pictures I've found, doesn't seem likely, perhaps they removed them to lower the cabinet. Otherwise, I'd have to say they were damaged somehow and removed. Regardless, whoever removed them did a great job as the entire bottom looks clean. Wonder if perhaps there was a model where it say directly on the ground?

Thank you again for everything!

[jimw156]

Judging from the grille, this would have been fitted with the same folded horn used on the VV-8-4 -- http://www.victor-victrola.com/8-4.htm -- so it will have an impressive sound once restored.

OrthoFan,

Yup, that's the one mine has! And boy, are you right: I was blown away by the sound! I was happy enough to see that the turntable was working. But when that sound came out, WOW! Even with the door and lid closed, the sound was still loud!