Is this fake?

[USlakeside]

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-DADAPHONE-1910 ... 239wt_1167

[gramophoneshane]

I DONT think so. All the parts are Thorens, including the soundbox & horn.
It also has a motor board catch, which most of the 70's & later repro's dont have.
The only problem I have with it is the motor. I would have expected the motor frame to be cast if it was made between around 1910-15. That same plate & post motor was used in many machines during the 1920's, but I'm not sure just when it was introduced. I think the earliest machine I have with that motor dates from about 1921.
If you're thinking about bidding, I'd advise getting a picture or two of the motor board with the turntable removed to check that the motor hasn't been changed out.
It looks like you might be up for a new spring barrel too.

[estott]

It might be, but I wouldn't write it off immediately. I've seen perfectly genuine cheap swiss machines that look very much like crap-o-phones. It could be partially genuine (the case looks convincing) but so much polish has been applied to every surface that it's hard to tell. More pictures are definitely needed before bidding.

[gramophoneshane]

LOL, I just realised I wrote "I think so", when it should read "I dont think so"
I think I'll go back & edit it

I think it's a genuine machine, but I would double check that the motor hasn't been updated at some stage.
Thorens sold parts and complete machines under hundreds of different brand names, and this appears to be one of them.

[Calle]

Fake... looks nice but isn't original...
For example: see the horn, it looks like painted (to look older)...
In countries like India it's easy to reproduce that kind of crap

[Tobia]

In that auction description you can find this link:
http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstor ... nt_id=3651

It tells that Dadaphone was a real Indian company founded in 1881 and still present on the market (you can find their address on internet, they are in Kalbadevi).

This machine seems to be old, the cabinet and the soundbox in particular. I'm suspicious about the horn and the motor.

Bye!

[Calle]

@Tobia, I don't think it's old: the case is probably new made just as the -indeed- the horn. (Why is a rather fragile part as a horn in a better shape than the case and why is the arm in a better shape than the speedcontrol (for example)).
The motor is probably from a cheap, old gramophone and the other parts are new made.
The sound box is probably also old but I don't thinks it belongs to this gramophone...

Other members ???

BTW: most of the metal parts are rather rusty and/or dirty but the case (inside ! ! ! !) (and especially the horn) is rather clean...

[brianu]

would someone post an image of this? I can't access ebay now. and in any event, if we want to maintain an image of the machine for the site, that link won't last forever.

[phonophan79]

Interesting machine, here are the pics.

[brianu]

@Tobia, I don't think it's old: the case is probably new made just as the -indeed- the horn. (Why is a rather fragile part as a horn in a better shape than the case and why is the arm in a better shape than the speedcontrol (for example)).
The motor is probably from a cheap, old gramophone and the other parts are new made.
The sound box is probably also old but I don't thinks it belongs to this gramophone...

Other members ???

BTW: most of the metal parts are rather rusty and/or dirty but the case (inside ! ! ! !) (and especially the horn) is rather clean...

your reasoning makes sense, and I'm definitely leaning toward saying that the horn and elbow are likely contemporary and artificially aged. but the rest looks good, relatively speaking - as in legitimate, old, etc. - and based on the same reasons as listed in the other posts above, so I won't repeat. it just seems like one of those odd off-brand euro machines that surface from time to time.

oh... and thanks for posting the photos dean (perhaps dean could be, in addition to craigslist editor, the official convert-link-to-image editor as well?).