Phonographs of the Rich and Famous

[Dave]

Illustration of a Victrola in the "Blue" or "Music Room" around 1912 (Victor Victrola advertisement)
It was enjoyed by President Wilson and later moved to his S Street home after he left office.

blue-room-c1912.jpg (86.68 KiB) Viewed 1116 times

[Silvertone]

Years ago I examined a Victor 9-55 that the owner bought from Stan Laurel. Unfortunately, it had been gutted.

[De Soto Frank]

At the Marcella Sembrich Museum on Lake George, NY, there is her Victrola, which I believe is an L-door B.

It could stand a cleaning and some Howard's Feed & Wax.

I'll see if I have some pictures...

[edisonplayer]

I wonder what kind of phonograph boxing legend Gene Tunney had?I'd imagine Gene having a walnut Orthophonic Credenza with leather tooled front and electric motor.edisonplayer

[Player-Tone]

Looks like James Dean had an Edison:

[epigramophone]

During the 1930's HMV produced a series of record sleeves depicting well known recording artists posing with their gramophones. Whether the artists really owned the gramophones is questionable, but the publicity did HMV no harm.

Here is Albert Coates with "his" HMV145. Would an eminent conductor have been satisfied with the smallest cabinet model in the HMV range, good as it was and still is? I think not.

[OrthoSean]

Ah, those HMV sleeves! I had forgotten about those, it does make you wonder. I have quite a lot of them, but you're right, I can't imagine Coates would have had a 145, others show the 157 and 163 I believe. I don't recall seeing any HMV artists with a 192, 193, 202 or 203 or have I forgotten? While I really like my 145, especially for acoustics, it isn't one I play too often.

As for the Rich and Famous, this may or may not fit here, but the man who ran Albany's Democratic Political "Machine" from 1919 until his death in 1978, Dan O'Connell, owned a Credenza. Our local PBS station aired a documentary about him recently and his Credenza was featured a few times behind him in photos and interview footage from his home. He seemed to have had it for decades, too, one of the photos was from the 1960s, I'd love to know what happened to the machine.

Sean

[De Soto Frank]

Ah, those HMV sleeves! I had forgotten about those, it does make you wonder. I have quite a lot of them, but you're right, I can't imagine Coates would have had a 145, others show the 157 and 163 I believe. I don't recall seeing any HMV artists with a 192, 193, 202 or 203 or have I forgotten? While I really like my 145, especially for acoustics, it isn't one I play too often.

As for the Rich and Famous, this may or may not fit here, but the man who ran Albany's Democratic Political "Machine" from 1919 until his death in 1978, Dan O'Connell, owned a Credenza. Our local PBS station aired a documentary about him recently and his Credenza was featured a few times behind him in photos and interview footage from his home. He seemed to have had it for decades, too, one of the photos was from the 1960s, I'd love to know what happened to the machine.

Sean

So, would that make it a Machine's machine ? Machine squared ?

[woonettophone]

Here's Buster and his sons, making some adjustments to a rather elaborate Electrola.

[marcapra]

Hoot Gibson and I've read that William S. Hart owned 1928 Victrola 9-54s. Here is the Gibson phono: http://www.radioblvd.com/ConsolePhoto.htm

Also actor Rudolf Valentino was a radio and perhaps phonograph buff in the the 1920s. I know he recorded a couple of songs, for Victor I think. There is a great picture of radio pioneer Alfred Grebe helping Valentino install a Grebe radio console in Valentino's home. If I can find it, I will put it on here.





Also British composer Sir Edward Elgar preferred HMV phonographs c. 1930: