Odd items found inside phonographs

Discussions on Talking Machines & Accessories
Post Reply
ColoradoPhonograf
Victor II
Posts: 426
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 6:21 pm

Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by ColoradoPhonograf »

I recently found a Victrola XI from a local Craigslist posting. The price was too good to pass up so I grabbed it. After I got it home I discovered there was an old photo in a round frame slid down inside the slats of the horn opening. I fished it out and it was a very old photo of a man. I called the lady back and asked her if she knew about it, her response was that it was a photo of her husband's grandfather. I told her I would bring it back to her so that her husband would have it back. She said "No, don't worry about it". I thought it was odd....but, at least I tried to do the right thing. Another time I was bewildered by the low volume of a Credenza machine and upon removing the grill I discovered a VERY large pair of womans underware stuffed into the horn very tightly, that was a good laugh. I guess "Stuff a sock in it" wasn't quite adequate in this case!

What bizarre items have you found inside of machines you have acquired?

ColoradoPhonograf

syncopeter
Victor II
Posts: 405
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:37 am

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by syncopeter »

Apart from the odd needle box rattling around and a lot of dead flies I've never found strange things inside gramophone I bought. I did use a sock to muffle the sound when my parents complained they didn't hear the talk show presenter but since I needed that afterwards to go out with my girlfriend I retrieved it.

User avatar
Amberola 1-A
Victor II
Posts: 268
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:57 pm
Location: The Granite State
Contact:

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by Amberola 1-A »

I once bought a VV-100 at auction as it went cheap, and when I tore down the motor I found a rose gold bangle bracelet behind the slats inside the horn. It had an inscription on the inside that was from either a husband to a wife or perhaps a father to a daughter and was dated 1921.
I always wondered how soon after receipt that had gone missing and if some child had stuck it in there.

Bill
Check with your dealer for the latest Edison Records!

User avatar
fmblizz
Victor IV
Posts: 1171
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: South Jersey

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by fmblizz »

Do dehydrated mice count as a good find ?? Bet it smelled great in it's prime.

Maybe not as good as the ladies underwear though.

LOL

fmblizz

User avatar
alang
VTLA
Posts: 3109
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:36 am
Personal Text: TMF Moderator
Location: Delaware

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by alang »

Found a 1941 Penny in my VV-IX. I immediately checked on the web if it was worth a fortune, and yes, it has nearly quadrupled in value :lol:
Also found some dried cicadas in the tonearm and reproducer of my HMV.
Andreas

User avatar
Amberola 1-A
Victor II
Posts: 268
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:57 pm
Location: The Granite State
Contact:

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by Amberola 1-A »

When I first got my Opera and played it prior to re-building the Reproducer, I noticed the sound was greatly diminished.

What I found when removing the diaphragm

Image

What the cause of the diminished sound was!

Image

Six moths had apparently crawled down inside the Reproducer from the horn opening. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this!

Bill
Check with your dealer for the latest Edison Records!

JohnM
Victor V
Posts: 2986
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:47 am
Location: Jerome, Arizona
Contact:

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by JohnM »

I've found most things in Diamond Disc machines because of the myriad openings into the cabinet, I suppose: a HUGE rat's nest made from thousands of steel needles, three color litho 'Sheik' condom tins, several 7" Berliner, Consolidated, Johnson, and Zonophone discs behind the divider slats of a C-19.
"All of us have a place in history. Mine is clouds." Richard Brautigan

User avatar
Tinkerbell
Victor III
Posts: 778
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:01 pm
Location: Somewhere over Never, Neverland

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by Tinkerbell »

Wow, you guys have found some interesting things! I can't say that I have found anything of real interest... usually just the expected stuff like unused bamboo and Tungs-tone needles, dead bugs, spider eggs.

That said, I did find a 1906 Indian head penny. However, my return on value for my penny is much better than Alang's, (though I won't be retiring to Hawaii anytime soon); because it is graded XF, it's worth a whopping $7.60. Cha-ching!! :lol:

I'd sure like to know the backstory behind the bloomers in the box! :rose:
Last edited by Tinkerbell on Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Tinkerbell
Victor III
Posts: 778
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:01 pm
Location: Somewhere over Never, Neverland

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by Tinkerbell »

Amberola 1-A wrote:
Six moths had apparently crawled down inside the Reproducer from the horn opening. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this!

Bill
At least they weren't cockroaches! UGH! :rose:

Jerry B.
Victor Monarch Special
Posts: 8510
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:25 am
Personal Text: Stop for a visit when in Oregon.
Location: Albany, Oregon

Re: Odd items found inside phonographs

Post by Jerry B. »

I found an card that was an invitation to a prom inside the horn area of my Amberola 1-A. The purple card is about the size of a business card and was printed in a fancy gold print. Is that a dance card? There were no names on the back.

Another time I found a 1910 dime in the concave area of the cast cygnet bracket on my Fireside.

It's so exciting to find a treasure inside a phonograph. Both of my items will stay with the machine with a little note.

Great thread! Jerry

Post Reply