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Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:05 pm
by schweg
Make: Puck
Model: Mermaid
Serial # N/A
Years: 1900-1914
Original Cost: Free?
Case/Cabinet Size: Cast iron base
Turntable/Mandrel: 4"
Soundbox: floating reproducer
Motor: open spring
Horn Dimensions: 11" aluminum
Repro Parts: reproducer
Current Value:
Interesting Facts: Neat mermaid base- not for playing your valuable cylinders!
Steve
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:18 pm
by MordEth
Steve,
Thanks for featuring this phonograph—I’ve liked it since the first photograph that you’d shown me of it previously, as I don’t think that I’ve seen a smaller machine that was this decorative.
How loud is it, with that horn?
— MordEth
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:06 am
by Valecnik
Neat little machine. Unlike with many of them, the horn is in pretty good condition. Thanks for posting.
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:43 pm
by Starkton
Yours is a
"Syrena-Puck", manufactured by Fritz Puppel, well known for "mass fabrication" and "precision work" see below. The "Syrena-Puck" was marketed since October 1905.
The flower horn was applied a little later. Therefore, I would guess a manufacturing date of your pretty machine from 1906 to c. 1908.
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:54 pm
by schweg
Thanks for the great information and the advertisement.
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:27 pm
by MordEth
Starkton,
Thanks for sharing the advertisement. Certainly, you always seem to have some very useful and pertinent information on hand.
I made an attempt at pulling the text from the advert and translating it, although someone with a better command of German may want to correct the translation. I mostly rely on
Google’s language tools for that.
German advertising copy:
Fritz Puppel, Berlin S.O.,
35|36 Bouché-Strasse 35|36.
Plattenmaschinen- und Phonographen-Fabrik.
Billigste Bezugsquelle für Wiederverkäufer u.Exporteure.
NEUHEIT!
Massen-fabrikation!
Präcisions-arbeit!
NEUHEIT!
„Syrena-Puck“, D.R.G.M.
Translated copy:
Fritz Puppel, South East² Berlin,
35|36 Bouché¹ Street 35|36.
Disc machine and phonograph factory.
The cheapest source of supply for retailers and exporters.
NEW!
Mass production!
Precision work!
NEW!
"Syrena-Puck", German Reich utility patent²
[hr][/hr]
¹
From an online French dictionary: bouché Adjective (a) blocked
pipe, nose; stoppered
jar;
j'ai le nez ~ I've got a blocked nose, my nose is blocked (up);
j'ai les oreilles bouchées my ears are blocked (up)
(b) overcast
sky, weather
(c) (Infml: of person) thick, dense;
il a l'esprit un peu ~ he's as thick as two short planks
(Infml), he's got one brick short of a full load
(Infml, humorous);
~ à l'émeri wood from the neck up
(Infml, humorous), thick as a brick
(Infml), a complete moron
(Slang), one brick short of a full load
(Infml, humorous)
(d) (Music) muted
trumpet
(e) oversubscribed
sector; futureless
career,
subject with no future
(f) cidre ~ bottled cider
The street may also have been named after
Carl David Bouché (1809-1881) who was a German botanist and gardener. He served as Inspector (technical director) of the Royal Botanic Garden in Berlin from 1843 to 1881.
Before reading the Wikipedia article on
C.D. Bouché, I had wondered if perhaps that advertisement wasn’t from Belgium or another country where both French and German were spoken.
By the way, congratulations on the first machine to fall under the
‘Miscellaneous’ category.
— MordEth
[hr][/hr]
² Corrections courtesy of
Starkton (see
this post).
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:38 pm
by Edisonfan
Hey Steve, nice machine. I have seen one pop up on ebay, a while back, but it went for a lot of money. I can not remember how much though? Thank you for doing No.8.
Hey David, looks like you'll need to add another catagory, to the archives.
Paul
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:43 pm
by MordEth
Edisonfan wrote:Hey David, looks like you'll need to add another category to the archives.
Paul,
I think that you missed my earlier comment at the bottom of my translation attempts:
I’m curious if the Google translation of
‘S.O.’ as ‘see above’ is correct (I’m guessing it might not be) and hopefully one of our German members can explain the
‘D.R.G.M.’ acronym.
Does anyone have an idea of approximately how many of these machines were made?
— MordEth
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:13 am
by Starkton
MordEth wrote:
I’m curious if the Google translation of ‘S.O.’ as ‘see above’ is correct (I’m guessing it might not be) and hopefully one of our German members can explain the ‘D.R.G.M.’ acronym.
Does anyone have an idea of approximately how many of these machines were made?
"S.O." means "Süd Ost" (translated "South-East")
D.R.G.M. means "
Deutsches
Reich
Gebrauchs
Muster" (German Reich utility patent)
Tens of thousands were made, for sure.
Re: Featured Phonograph № 8
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:20 am
by MordEth
Starkton,
Thanks for the additional information on my translation attempt. I updated that post with the information you provided and linked to your comments on it.
— MordEth