Re: Die Stimme seines Herrn...oddity table grand
Posted: Sun May 02, 2021 6:06 am
It is interesting when a machine stir up different opinions, and I don't mind it at all, on the contrary really. I only paid €50 for the machine, and simply bought it for the soundbox only, and an added extra was the double spring Paillard motor in excellent condition. As told I showed the machine to my old friend, who have been collecting for more than 50 years, and also written some books, and he is still of the opinion that the machine is genuine, but after resending him photos in better resolution, he now says the machine is not made in Denmark, but in Germany, because of the " Die stimme...." logo. This trademark was too blurry on the first photos I sent him. He says the soundbox must have been changed on a later occasion, still the same period soundbox, but a Danish one instead of the original German Exhibition. His views on the machine are as follows:
"This is a HMV machine for sale only inside Germany, and not made for export, because of Polyphonwerke's "takeover" of DGAG. It looks like a transitional model, and is made in 1919-1920. Due to lack of parts after WW1, a swiss motor has been used."
Myself I can only say that i know for sure that the machine has not been tampered with the last 30 years or so, since it simply has been stored away since the owner died 18 years ago, and the owner only used it for decoration, according to his daughter. I was told by the daughter that her father bought it in an antique shop in Oslo, and after cheching more on that, there were only 2 shops in Oslo selling antique gramophones around the time this machine most probably was bought, and they both were specialist shops. There has never been a market for repros etc. here , the market is simply too small, and the general attitude of selling something fake was simply most non existent if we go back 30 years in time, so if this machine has been made in a backyard, it must have happened quite a few decades ago, and the one who did it, would really also have had a hard job too finding parts for it.
That said, IF the machine is not genuine, one can still ponder where the top had its origin, since it looks very different than HMV tops. I am also adding some photos of a Polyphon table top I serviced last summer, a machine made a few years later, under the Polyphon logo.
Regarding the wood on the machine we discuss. It has two wood types, the motor board and the upper part of the top lid has the same color and type of wood, and this wood can also be found on the lower base, under the doors, even if it is a bit hard to see on the photos.
We maybe will never know the whole truth about this machine. It was labelled Table Grand Model 126 by the owner, probably has he received this information in the shop where he bought the machine.
Photos of the Polyphon table model, added, also with a wooden horn. Pay also attention to the side mounted gooseneck tonearm, so yes, they exist, Marco:;)
"This is a HMV machine for sale only inside Germany, and not made for export, because of Polyphonwerke's "takeover" of DGAG. It looks like a transitional model, and is made in 1919-1920. Due to lack of parts after WW1, a swiss motor has been used."
Myself I can only say that i know for sure that the machine has not been tampered with the last 30 years or so, since it simply has been stored away since the owner died 18 years ago, and the owner only used it for decoration, according to his daughter. I was told by the daughter that her father bought it in an antique shop in Oslo, and after cheching more on that, there were only 2 shops in Oslo selling antique gramophones around the time this machine most probably was bought, and they both were specialist shops. There has never been a market for repros etc. here , the market is simply too small, and the general attitude of selling something fake was simply most non existent if we go back 30 years in time, so if this machine has been made in a backyard, it must have happened quite a few decades ago, and the one who did it, would really also have had a hard job too finding parts for it.
That said, IF the machine is not genuine, one can still ponder where the top had its origin, since it looks very different than HMV tops. I am also adding some photos of a Polyphon table top I serviced last summer, a machine made a few years later, under the Polyphon logo.
Regarding the wood on the machine we discuss. It has two wood types, the motor board and the upper part of the top lid has the same color and type of wood, and this wood can also be found on the lower base, under the doors, even if it is a bit hard to see on the photos.
We maybe will never know the whole truth about this machine. It was labelled Table Grand Model 126 by the owner, probably has he received this information in the shop where he bought the machine.
Photos of the Polyphon table model, added, also with a wooden horn. Pay also attention to the side mounted gooseneck tonearm, so yes, they exist, Marco:;)