Sonora Console - Oak Gothic Polychrome

[tictalk]

Hi Bill,

The upright Sonora you show above has puzzled me since I first saw a picture of it. It has features of both the Invincible and the Supreme. It is not pictured in any of the 15 Sonora machine catalogs I own (I know there are others I have not seen). One of our TMF members sold one through eBay several years ago, and he called it an Invincible, but really had no proof to back up that claim when I inquired.

Very, very nice,
Bob (a Sonora guy)

Hi Bill ,Love the art case Sonora, Concerning your other big Sonora, Does the Bombay swell horizontally as well as vertically? If it swells in both directions then I would believe it is a Supreme, if it swells just vertically then I would think it would be a Invincible. I have taken a photo of the side swell on a Supreme and the side swell on an invincible with a straight edge at the high point of the swell. Either way it is lovely! I too am a huge fan of Sonora, they are the best made machines bar none.

[Django]

Thanks everyone for the help and the replies so far!

I didn't know the cabinet style - now it does indeed appear to be much like the Jacobean model. I have the original bill of sale and it's dated 1918. I'm guessing the pickup was added at a later date.

Wish there was a photo of it with the grill exposed. The wood is pretty enough on the horn itself that it isn't the end of the world if that's what it ends up being, but still it'd be nice to have the machine completed authentically.

I have the Louis XV Deluxe and the Queen Anne as well so this is a nice addition to the collection. And while we're on Sonoras... can anyone help me identify this one? I've had it for years and I've been told it's an Invincible or a Deluxe Baby Grand but I can't find anything on the Internet to support that. Any of you seasoned vets know the answer?

Thanks again for always being so helpful.

Bill

I think that your Sonora is a Supreme, (possibly a 1923). They had a little more carving in 1920 and 1922. The grill shape matches a Supreme. Is there any carving on the corners of the lid?

[UpstateNYBilly]

Thanks yet again, gentlefolk
I'm glad I'm not alone in my confusion about the upright. I've puzzled over it for some time. It's in really nice shape. I bought it when I was working in a collector's record store (Footlight Records) in the East Village in Manhattan some years back. The owner of Gallagher's (which was a paper/ephemera shop across the street from us on E. 12th St) knew I collected phonographs and told me to come by the shop and see if I was interested in the machine he'd just gotten in that day. When I saw it I knew I wanted it no matter what the price. It was $250.00 and I didn't blink an eye.

As for the curve, all four sides have both a horizontal and vertical bow to them. No carving on the lid, however. Very substantial piece.

I'm attaching a few more photos.

Once again, I appreciate the help and interest!

best,
Bill

[BillH_NJ]

Beautiful!

[AmberolaAndy]

Thanks yet again, gentlefolk
I'm glad I'm not alone in my confusion about the upright. I've puzzled over it for some time. It's in really nice shape. I bought it when I was working in a collector's record store (Footlight Records) in the East Village in Manhattan some years back. The owner of Gallagher's (which was a paper/ephemera shop across the street from us on E. 12th St) knew I collected phonographs and told me to come by the shop and see if I was interested in the machine he'd just gotten in that day. When I saw it I knew I wanted it no matter what the price. It was $250.00 and I didn't blink an eye.

As for the curve, all four sides have both a horizontal and vertical bow to them. No carving on the lid, however. Very substantial piece.

I'm attaching a few more photos.

Once again, I appreciate the help and interest!

best,
Bill

Be glad you’re UpstateNYBilly and not EasternNEBilly, because if you were EasternNEBilly you won’t be able to find any of these machines!

(It’s a joke because these machines are more likely to show up on the east coast and not the Midwest where I’m at.)

[Pathe Logical]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for posting the additional pics of your fancy, upright, bombe Sonora!

From the first, lone pic you showed earlier, I couldn't tell all four cabinet sides are bowed both vertically and horizontally (a Supreme feature, not found on Sonora's other bombe cabinets). On the first two body styles of the Supreme, all four sides of the lid bowed out (similar only to the front of yours).

In your third pic above (showing the open drawer), I notice what looks like built-in, green, tilt-out record album spines behind the record storage doors (another feature offered only on Supremes --- six albums/volumes with either brown or green spines, labeled A-F). Perhaps these are just loose, miscellaneous, unrelated albums in yours. But I think I see A-H in yours? Other machines used individual sleeves arranged in groups of ten without a spine.

Can you please show us a pic of the inside of the complete record storage compartment? How about a pic of the complete turntable compartment and ID plate with serial number too? Maximum cabinet dimensions (W x D x H) would also be good to know. Thanks!

This is really looking more Supreme-like to me, but without a pic in a catalog, an advertisement, or other documentation I would hesitate to give it a model designation at this point.

I hope others keep chiming in to help ID this model,
Bob

[audiophile102]

Your Sonora is like none I have seen. Everything about it says it's an Invincible except for that grill which was only found on the Supreme. I never imagined that Sonora made such a model. The uniqueness of it makes it equally as valuable as the Supreme if it left the factory like that. Sure looks like it from the pictures. Here is what my Invincible looks like.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21672

[bearcat]

UpstateNYBilly

I have a dealers catalog with the original post phonograph pictured as the Jacobean...
List price of $1750...

bob stutz

[UpstateNYBilly]

Hey Gang
Sorry I took a while in responding with pics.
I was just with a fellow collector friend of mine who has an Invincible and they are very similar - his and mine - but mine has the dual bow in the cabinet and in the rather substantial grill. But below they are nearly identical. Same legs, same set up in the drawer/record holders. Same carving on the sides but plain lid like his Invincible.

Here are the pics asked for including the Sonora plate from under the turntable.

Thanks for your help and interest, everyone

best
Bill

[UpstateNYBilly]

Hey Gang
Sorry I took a while in responding with pics.
I was just with a fellow collector friend of mine who has an Invincible and they are very similar - his and mine - but mine has the dual bow in the cabinet and in the rather substantial grill. But below they are nearly identical. Same legs, same set up in the drawer/record holders. Same carving on the sides but plain lid like his Invincible.

Here are the pics asked for including the Sonora plate from under the turntable.

Thanks for your help and interest, everyone

best
Bill