Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

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Inigo
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by Inigo »

Truly beautiful, guy!
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nostalgia
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by nostalgia »

Now I need help! I came across this gramophone yesterday in my close neighbourhood, and that does not happen to often. There was only one photo available from the seller, and on this photo one corner looked broken off, and the total impression was not good, at a price of €120 euro, also without a winding handle. Still, we know photos can deceive, so I decided to check the machine, and soon discovered the gramophone cabinet was trully beautiful, absolutely no destroyed corners, but...with the back bracket and tonearm exchanged at some stage in the past. Now the machine had a back bracket and tonearm from a small Swizz/German horn gramophone, while this is a big cabinet horn gramophone. I still made an offer on the cabinet, and got it for a very low price.
As you can see the cabinet is really beautiful, and the motor is a heavy horse, a double spring motor, that really has "horse power!" And the wood, it is really beautiful, does someone recognize the wood type?

1. I am myself not able to identify the motor, it has a Swiss cross with a kind of arrow across the cross. I don't recognize this as early Paillard logo, since the early Paillard logo incorporates a post horn on top of a cross.
2. If someone can identify the motor/ gramophone, it will maybe be possible to at some stage in thet future find a back bracket/tonearm that fits this machine.

I upload some photos, at the bottom how the machine looked when I bought it, and on top we can see it after a general clean up.
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Curt A
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by Curt A »

The motor logo is Thorens. You found an extremely beautiful machine - congratulations.
It apparently had metal embellishments on the sides at one time...
Does the needle reach the spindle when in playing position? If so, the tone arm is not too short and the setup and horn may be correct, it looks like a Swiss back mount and horn... Does it say anything inside the reproducer, behind the diaphragm?
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nostalgia
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by nostalgia »

Thank you, Curt.
I should of course have been thinking about Thorens too, I guess I am too tired after a long day out in the heat. And this is actually my first Thorens machine too.
And thanks for the congratulations, it was impossible to let this go of course for a mere ...€ 30. :clover:
It is nothing cheap about this machine, it is really heavy, and a "senior model/big size" and everything about it look classy.

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Curt A
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by Curt A »

€ 30...? Did the police follow you home...? :? :lol: What an absolute steal...
"The phonograph† is not of any commercial value."
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.

"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by nostalgia »

I had a Police escort home, bringing the gramophone to safety.;)
No..you know I live in a part of the world that is very scarcely populated, around here a town with 50 000 citizen is big. :roll:

I quickly saw the tonearm was not genuine, there was an extra hold drilled in the wood on the back side to attach the back bracket, and the horn is a small type of peackock horn, typical for the small Swizz horn gramophones of which I already own a few. The needle does absolutely not reach the spindle area, and it was when showing this to the seller, he said I could offer what I wanted for the machine, if I wanted buy it.
A scrappy Columbia 20 soundbox with destroyed diaphragm was attached to the tonearm.

So now I need go hunting..for a Thorens back bracket and tonearm. It may take a while, but it will be worth the effort when looking at this machine.

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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by epigramophone »

This machine from the 1914 Thorens catalogue is not dissimilar to your interesting find.
Regarding the wood, most of the case is mahogany but the dark grain on the motor board looks like rosewood.
That is most unusual to find on a gramophone. I wonder whether the motor board has been re-veneered.
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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by jamiegramo »

nostalgia wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 1:22 pm it was impossible to let this go of course for a mere ...€ 30.
It’s absolute robbery! I’m horrified and have already sent an email to Interpol.

I told you to save your money for another bargain over that Zonophone but wasn’t expecting anything as shocking as this. I wish I could buy just the back bracket for that even if it isn’t correct for this machine.

This nice deluxe double-spring machine appears to have a fine rosewood veneer to the top. The rest will be mahogany, the rosewood adding an exotic touch.

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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by jamiegramo »

jamiegramo wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:34 pm
jamiegramo wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:32 pm
epigramophone wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 2:29 pm Regarding the wood, most of the case is mahogany but the dark grain on the motor board looks like rosewood.
That is most unusual to find on a gramophone. I wonder whether the motor board has been re-veneered.
Our emails on the rosewood posted at exactly the same time!

You make a good point! Nostalgia needs to check the underside of the motor board to see if the rosewood veneer is covering redundant holes.

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Re: Horn gramophones to identify and discuss

Post by nostalgia »

Thanks for posting the picture of this Thorens machine, Roger. It really looks pretty similar to my machine in many ways
Jamie... :lol: I just had to present something a bit better than the "Zonofrankenphone", right? I actually was close to dismiss the machine yesterday evening because of the very bad initial photo received, but an inner voice told me to have a look at it, and I am happy I did, of course.
Rosewood, thanks for telling that. I will for sure take some photos of the underside of the motorboard after removing the motor in the next few days.

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