Cecilian Melophonic, a Montgomery Ward's Credenza Clone

[Detrbear]

I imagine that when the stock market crashed in 1929, nobody knew how bad it was going to get. Entertainment devices were pretty low on the list of must-haves.

In the ad that George kindly posted (sorry to have missed the year and catalog number you gave!) even the electrically amplified phonograph was $58 off.

Notice also "We Pay Freight" at the bottom. That was new, across the board enticement to keep customers buying through the Montgomery Ward Catalog.

[VanEpsFan1914]

So...Montgomery Ward was basically old-school Amazon Prime?

In South Carolina there were some parts electricity didn't reach until the 1950s. The poor hung onto their windups until then or maybe a little longer--among elderly folks here in the South, especially the black people, an old record player is called a "Grafonola." In 1948 Grandpa Jones' "Eight More Miles to Louisville" came out and he mentioned it in a later live performance as "the first tune I ever put on a graphophone record." My grandmother, born in 1930, didn't know that the cabinet phonograph was such an old machine--she'd never seen a cylinder phonograph but grew up listening to an upright of some sort she called a "victrola." Maybe it was a Vic, maybe it was a different brand. She always thought they were something you bought at a furniture store--apparently farmers traded in a lot of this stuff and Grandma, being a farm girl, saw only the secondhand models.

Cool stuff. Hope the Cecelian can be restored easily.

[Detrbear]

Here's the Cecilian Melophonic so far. Lots of odd things about it, from the wood pulp horn to the oil bath motor, lots to study.

Thanks to all who have helped, offered suggestions, and especially gramophone-georg, who kindly sent me an original Melophonic soundbox! It's being used in this video. It's a little big for the fitting, but seems to work well with a strip of painter's tape.

The Toman soundbox that came with the Melophonic was 4.3 ounces. A potmetal Orthophonic soundbox was 4.8 ounces. I found a soundbox on eBay as per the one shown in topic: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6625 It was 6.2 ounces. The one George sent me was 6.6 ounces.

(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)

The song is Where'd You Get Those Eyes - George Olsen and His Music - Vocal refrain by Fran Frey - VE Victor #20112-B.

[JerryVan]

That's very nice! I like it!

[Detrbear]

Thanks Jerry! Did you get to the Vintage Electronics Expo yesterday? I bought this record there for a buck.

[JerryVan]

Thanks Jerry! Did you get to the Vintage Electronics Expo yesterday? I bought this record there for a buck.

No. Was that an MARC event?
I was in K'zoo for an antique car swap meet.

[Detrbear]

It was an MARC event. Their Extravaganza in July is usually held in Kalamazoo, but this year it's going to be in Livonia July 18/19.

[pianolist]

I had never heard of the Cecilian Melophonic until last week when I saw one. There is one for sale at a large antique mall in North Carolina, Granddaddy’s in Burlington. It only had half of a sad reproducer but otherwise looked nice. They wanted 450 for it.

[Detrbear]

Thanks for posting those pictures, Pianolist! For $450 you would think they would tape the grile cloth back up, or find a cheap soundbox to coax some sound out of it!



Here I'm posting a video of an Orthophonic Credenza playing the same song as the Melophonic video a few messages back. Per request.

(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)

[gramophone-georg]

Bass sounds better on the Melophonic, but the Credenza seems crisper on the high end.