Sunday afternoon around 12:30 I got a phone call from a good friend of mine and she said that her grandfather sold his house last week and everything needed to be cleaned out. He had already moved into a smaller house several years ago, but decided to hold onto the property; so the house sat vacant for nearly a decade. She told me that in the back room was what appeared to be a Victrola and she thought I might be interested in seeing it (she knows how much I like Victrolas!). After talking to her on the phone and trying to get some information, I decided to take a drive up and look at it. About 30 minutes later, after arriving at the property, I walked into the back room with her and she pointed to the corner where the machine sat. I was on cloud 9 because it was a vv-xvi with L doors! It felt like Christmas had come a month early! I explained to her and her mother what the machine was and her mother asked me if I wanted it. I asked her how much she was looking to get out of it and she answered "Nothing. If you don't take it, its going in the garbage. No one in the family wants it". Naturally I didn't want to see a Victrola end up in the trash, but I didn't want to take it from them without paying, so after a lot of persuading, I convinced her to let me take them out for dinner. So to make a long story short, I ended up coming home with a vv-xvi that only cost me a couple of lunches. Although this happened a couple of days after my birthday, I still consider this to be a pretty good 19th birthday present!!
Here are some pictures:
Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
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- Victor Jr
- Posts: 12
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Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
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- Victor IV
- Posts: 1198
- Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:13 pm
Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Really nice looking XVI. Congrats. Stuff just keeps finding a way to hide until the right person comes along. Great story. So glad your friend thought of you and alerted you to the machine. Another great machine saved from the trash heap just in the nick of time. And with two extra reproducers to boot!
Brad Abell
Brad Abell
- phonogal
- Victor IV
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- Personal Text: Life's Short. Be Happy!
- Location: Beautiful Piney Woods, SE TX.
Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Congratulations. It's a very nice machine. I'm sure they were happy to have it go to someone that will appreciate it.
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- Victor III
- Posts: 761
- Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2016 1:49 am
- Location: British Columbia, Canada
Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
What a great story--and you scored a lovely machine. The L-door is iconic.
Congrats
Steven
Congrats
Steven
- phonogfp
- Victor Monarch Special
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Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Outstanding! Bring-homes like that will always remind you of the people involved, and give you a warm feeling.
George P.
George P.
- audiophile102
- Victor IV
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- Location: Brookfield, Illinois
Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
There are no more disturbing words related to antique phonographs than, " No one wants it" and " If you don't take it, it's going to the trash." It's great that you had the insight to see the value in your Victrola. We are all caretakers of these wonderful machines so that they can be appreciated for generations to come. Lets hope that one day in the future the disturbing words will no longer be applied to antique phonographs. Congratulations! Now, find some terrific 78rpm records and share the experience of hearing a time machine.
"You can't take the phonographs nor the money with you, but the contentment the phonographs bring may well make your life better, and happier lives make the world a better place."
- Phono-Phan
- Victor V
- Posts: 2475
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Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Very nice!! It looks like it has some record albums also.
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- Victor Monarch Special
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Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
There is something elegant about a big mahogany Victrola. And I'll always love early Victrolas where each model had a unique design. Congratulations!
Jerry B.
Jerry B.
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- Victor I
- Posts: 128
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Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Great story.
The machine will always be more interesting and hold a special place because of how you got it.
Stephen
The machine will always be more interesting and hold a special place because of how you got it.
Stephen
- fran604g
- Victor VI
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- Location: Hemlock, NY
Re: Pros of having a friend who knows your hobby
Congratulations, it's wonderful to have a known connection to a machine's history. And at your age, you couldn't expect a better way to expand whatever collection you already enjoy!
Best,
Fran
Best,
Fran
Francis; "i" for him, "e" for her
"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while" - the unappreciative supervisor.
"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while" - the unappreciative supervisor.