Victor "C" surprise

[mcgravy]

I recently purchased this nice little Victor "C". As you can see from the pictures it had a rather odd repair to the left of the turntable that was done many years ago. I couldn't figure out what would have taken a chunk out of the case in that spot without doing more damage than it did. I decided to try to do a better repair so I took out the old wood putty and was very surprised to find lead pellets in the wood. The poor little guy had been shot. The only thing that I can figure is that long ago the machine was put out in the shed or barn and someone came along possibly shooting rats and the "C" caught a load of rat shot.

[gramophone78]

Well, it wouldn't be the first time a machine was mortally wounded.... . I'm just glad you are nursing her back to health... .

[mcgravy]

What a great story. Luckily this shooting wasn't fatal. I'll be posting some recovery pics soon.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Oh my! You see something new every day.

Please also post some pics of the restored chap at the end of your work!

[mcgravy]

All mended up. Not quite as invisible a repair as I would have liked but better than it was.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Don't be so modest: given the starting conditions you did an outstanding job! The colour match is almost perfect!

If I were you I would glue some of the lead balls on the inner, lower side of the top panel: to store them as a memory and suggest to posterity why such repair has been made.

[Henry]

Well, it wouldn't be the first time a machine was mortally wounded.... . I'm just glad you are nursing her back to health... .

Whodunnit.JPG

South of the border (to you) we just shoot each other, not phonographs, as a rule. OTOH, maybe those bikers in Waco were really aiming at the opponents motorcycles.

[VintageTechnologies]

A friend of mine has a Columbia BKT with a bullet hole through the red horn. It was not a straight-on shot, but made from an angle, leaving an elongated hole. We suspect alcohol might have been involved, and any peeling paint might have been the direct result of colourful language that ensued. We both agreed the hole should remain unpatched - it gives the machine "character".

[Jerry B.]

A friend and I were visiting Bill Shawver a collector well into his eighties. He was selling a few things and we made several purchases. I thought we were finished when he asked if we would like to see his spare parts. Now what collector wouldn't like to get into someone's spare parts? We bought a few things and I spotted what appeared to be a nice Columbia nickel horn. I picked up the horn and spun it to check the condition. It was covered with decades of dust but I felt something rough brush by the inside of my arm when I spun the horn. I checked one side of the horn and then the other. It was obvious it was damaged by a gunshot. I was about ready to place it back in its resting spot when Bill said there's a story with that horn. He told me a man was killed in a saloon in Montana early in the very early 1900's. The bullet passed through the horn and stuck its victim. With a good story like that and a price of only $75, I had to have it. I've enjoyed owning it for several years now. If the horn had been damaged while cleaning a deer rifle, it would be a junk horn but the story makes it very interesting.

Jerry Blais

[mcgravy]

Here are the seven lead shot that I extracted from the machine. There are several still in the machine that I did not remove. I'm going to put these seven in the case with a note. The machine did not come with it's original horn. It may not have survived the shooting.