Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Discussions on Talking Machines of British or European Manufacture
Post Reply
Sidewinder
Victor III
Posts: 647
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:51 am

Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by Sidewinder »

This machine sold yesterday at auction. A bit more than I paid for mine. Stunning machine. Hammer Price £6'100 ($7'600) (+ about 25% commission)
Attachments
melba.jpg

User avatar
nostalgia
Victor IV
Posts: 1397
Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2019 1:58 am
Personal Text: Keep winding up
Location: My gramophone repair room

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by nostalgia »

Stunning machine:)
A bit more than I paid for my first VV-XI-A also yesterday...which was actually 50 euro. :lol:
This Saturday evening will be (well) spent disassembling the motorboard, to see how it all looks down there,
before starting a full motor/wooden case refurb next week.
Have a great weekend, with,... or without a Melba:)

gramophone78
Victor VI
Posts: 3946
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:42 am
Location: Western Canada

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by gramophone78 »

If that price included the matching stand....that was a good deal for someone.

User avatar
Steve
Victor VI
Posts: 3121
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:40 pm
Location: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Evesham

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by Steve »

So they finally got shot of it after weeks of messing everybody around? I'm talking about the time wasting auctioneers.

If Dave Smith bought it as I expect (he was busy chasing it the last I was aware) we should hopefully see it re-appear on eBay with heavy mark up any day soon.

User avatar
jamiegramo
Victor III
Posts: 619
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:52 am
Location: St. Albans, UK

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by jamiegramo »

Yes this machine first appeared with auctioneer Wright Marshall. After postponing the sale the company went into liquidation 2 days before the second sale date. It reappeared with Peter Wilson auctioneers along with the hot air Stirling model. I couldn't attend this sale but the resolution of the pictures is very good and they can be blown right up. They show that it is likely the machine was repainted probably sometime ago and this is flaking and peeling. Also shown are redundant holes, see picture, in the case and the ladies forehead. I found the condition a little off-putting.
Attachments
image.jpeg

gramophone78
Victor VI
Posts: 3946
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:42 am
Location: Western Canada

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by gramophone78 »

Based on the rest of the pics.....it was not a deal at all.

The hot-air model is almost (if not all) completely made up and sold for 3000 Pounds plus fee. Someone got burned on that...no pun intended. Better to do your homework I guess.
hot-air.JPG
hot-air 2.JPG
hot-air 2.JPG (30.07 KiB) Viewed 1465 times

User avatar
jamiegramo
Victor III
Posts: 619
Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 5:52 am
Location: St. Albans, UK

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by jamiegramo »

I just posted a question on the hot air model and although no pun was intended I really had to laugh!:)

Sidewinder
Victor III
Posts: 647
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:51 am

Re: Very nice MELBA sold yesterday in UK, £6'100 ($7'600)

Post by Sidewinder »

I like the "someone got burned" comment.

It just goes to show - regarding the Melba, that the devil is in the details. Thanks for the close up. Reality is always better than photo's. The Melba should have a "piano finish", something like a grand piano.

The back story regarding auction houses was also very interesting, they seem to be a very profitable business - that is if you have the stock!

Post Reply