Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

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poodling around
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Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by poodling around »

I recently acquired a front wind HMV 101 and I wondered if it would have a serial number.

Underneath the turntable is stamped the number 79. (Photo 'below').

I assume that this means that it was the 79th machine off the production line then ?

Thank you for any advice about this you can give.
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Garret
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by Garret »

Is this the only stamp on the cabinet anywhere?

Garret

epigramophone
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by epigramophone »

The first 101 to carry an identification plate with a serial number was the 101E of 1928.

The stamp on your motor board is more likely to be a part number than a serial number.

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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by poodling around »

Garret wrote:Is this the only stamp on the cabinet anywhere?

Garret

I took the motor board off and had a good look around but this is the only number stamped on the cabinet.

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poodling around
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by poodling around »

epigramophone wrote:The first 101 to carry an identification plate with a serial number was the 101E of 1928.

The stamp on your motor board is more likely to be a part number than a serial number.

Thanks epigramophone.

It would be interesting if anyone else on here has the same model to see what their stamped number is.

Phono48
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by Phono48 »

There are no identification marks or numbers anywhere on my front-winding 101.

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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by poodling around »

Phono48 wrote:There are no identification marks or numbers anywhere on my front-winding 101.

That is very interesting. Thank you very much for taking the time to look and reply Phono48.

I wonder why the number 79 is stamped on my motor board then ?
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by poodling around »

The following may just be wishful thinking, but ...........

I have just read on another website that Christopher Proudfoot said 'The Calcutta factory did make a teak version of the 101, but they also made the standard cloth-covered version....'

I had a look again underneath the motorboard and this time found a metal 'tag' screwed near to the bottom right of the case which has a (surprisingly large) number on it. Could this be a serial number?

The horn has Reg. No's stamped on it.

The motor board has numbers on it.

The gramophone came with two or three records made in Calcutta.

So, my question is, (of course) .............. could this HMV 101 have been made in Calcutta ?

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/sho ... 773&page=2
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epigramophone
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

Post by epigramophone »

According to Dave Cooper's book on HMV portables, several "Tropical" models were finished in leathercloth, but teak was more resistant to tropical climatic conditions and to insect attack. Termites were particularly fond of the animal glue which was then used in plywood.
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Re: Was this the 79th Front Wind HMV 101 made ?

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epigramophone wrote:According to Dave Cooper's book on HMV portables, several "Tropical" models were finished in leathercloth, but teak was more resistant to tropical climatic conditions and to insect attack. Termites were particularly fond of the animal glue which was then used in plywood.
Thank you very much epigramophone. So as far as my HMV 101 being made in Calcutta I have a definite maybe ! That is good enough for me !

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