Opinions + thoughts needed on this Talk-O-Phone

[AZ*]

I agree with drh. Front mount machines deserve to be in a collection, but they can be real record grinders. I own several, but they are rarely, if ever played.

[LShaped]

Ah yes, the fatal attraction: in your case, you know exactly where it all went pear-shaped. (Or L-shaped. Because early Victrolas are cool.)

I started with a Crosley all-in-one.

Then I bought some 78s to go with vinyl LPs. Come from there I bought a Victor Victrola, but it was kind of old so I bought a portable Orthophonic to play newer 78s.

Then from there, a 1904 Edison Standard because it was cheap and it looked cool, then an Amberola 30 because I had already bought (for what reason I do not know) 18 Blue Amberols from a milk crate in an antique shop... then I bought a 1922 Brunswick console, purchased and traded a 1950s Birch 500 portable; next, a Edison Standard E, a Columbia Graphophone BK cylinder, a Victor III, another Graphophone BN for discs, a Phonola portable which turned into $$$ really quickly, a freebie off-brand British console, an Edison Fireside, an Oxford hornless gramophone, traded for a Grafonola portable, and then ended up diverting into four prewar typewriters, two Hamilton pocket watches, two ancient electric coffeepots, a 19th-century study bible the size of a toaster, two rotary phones, three old-time radios(1929 AK, 1937 Sparton, 1938 Crosley Fiver) a Toyota Corolla one year away from being antique, an iron sewing machine, a silent movie projector, books and books and books, a 1920s imitation-mahogany side table, a pair of centre-draft kerosene lamps and an Art Deco waffle iron.

Yes, I pared down the collection! I had to pare it down due to lack of space and want of funding. But at the moment there is still enough to essentially live like WWII hasn't happened yet...

Antiques and vintage things are moderately addictive; it's a lot of fun to mess with old junk and bring it back to working order. So that is what happened and that is why I wouldn't recommend a Victrola to someone without feeling like something of an enabler. Antiques are wonderful and the machinery of the past is quite usable in the modern age as well.

[JerryVan]

That's a very nice little Talk-O-Phone that appears to be very correct and complete. Must say, I've not seen one with a black horn bell, but that doesn't make it wrong, just means I haven't seen everything yet.

[Kent in KC]

That's a very nice little Talk-O-Phone that appears to be very correct and complete. Must say, I've not seen one with a black horn bell, but that doesn't make it wrong, just means I haven't seen everything yet.

I was thinking the same thing...plus I have that model and it has a brass bell. Doesn't really prove anything, and I will say I'm in to decals and that one is very nice.

[Phono-Phan]

The horn is correct.

[Zwebie]

LShaped,
I think that you need a Talk-O-Phone like this to grace your case!

[LShaped]

LShaped,
I think that you need a Talk-O-Phone like this to grace your case!

Woaoaoaoaoaoao....holy moly. Thats a Sousa right? Not sure i wanna spend Sousa money lolol

[Lucius1958]

LShaped,
I think that you need a Talk-O-Phone like this to grace your case!

I find it odd that, even with a high-end model like the Sousa, OTMCo never bothered to provide a separate brake; instead, leaving the speed control to serve that function. Always makes getting the right speed a bit tricky.

-Bill