Any info on this Silvertone out there

[Phonolair]

Looking on the cabinet I'm finding no markings or clues what model Silvertone this might be. Looking around the internet I have not been able to find any information or pictures of this model Silvertone.
Does anyone know what model Silvertone this is or when it may have been made. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on Silvertone's in general but maybe someone has some original paper, ads or info on it.

Larry Crandell

[De Soto Frank]

There was a reprint of the 1927 Sears Catalog in my public library when I was growing-up... I remember it listing talking machines, pianos, radios, etc.

If you can find a copy at a library, used book store, or on-line, that might give a clue ?

http://www.amazon.com/Sears-Roebuck-Cat ... 0517018659

(Looks like other years were reprinted too, including 1923...)


And it looks like Sears might have an online catalog resource going back to 1897...

http://searscatalogsonline.com/sears-ro ... rousel-928

http://searscatalogsonline.com/index/#x

[Phonolair]

Thanks for the input De Soto Frank.
Other web sites as the ones you listed don't seem searchable even with a search link. It seems one of the sites does offer requests of one item from one year at a time. That may be an option if I narrow down the year of production to a few years.
Since this computer of mine does not have a crank on the side it sometimes takes me longer to figure these sites out though.

Larry Crandell

[De Soto Frank]

Larry,

Share your sentiments about devices lacking cranks or not fired by coal.


I'll keep digging; I have a Silvertone upright that I would like to find more info on... it looks like a close cousin to a Victor X or XI, but with a Fleur-de-Lys pattern in the grille.

( Update - from Popular Science June, 1920, p 11 - apparently mine is model VIII "Adam Period", an $80 machine:

https://books.google.com/books?id=xCkDA ... ph&f=false )


The general cabinet design of yours looks quite simiilar to post-WW-I Columbia machines...

[De Soto Frank]

Looks like a Silvertone model R, "Adam Period" - only $7.00 a month ( or $200).

From "Cosmopolitan", Volume 69, December 1920, p. 161

Google books:

https://books.google.com/books?id=XQPnA ... ph&f=false

[De Soto Frank]

Looks like same ad from Popular Science, also Dec. 1920, page 95 ... better images though.


https://books.google.com/books?id=-ikDA ... ph&f=false

[Phonolair]

Looks like same ad from Popular Science, also Dec. 1920, page 95 ... better images though.


https://books.google.com/books?id=-ikDA ... ph&f=false

Wow great detective work. That is the same cabinet style for sure. So now I'm wondering about the gold adornments on my machine. Factory and a different model, dealer added or a decorating project by a owner. It looks like it's been there since new but who knows.

I think you have underestimated your search & computer skills, thanks. Did you find your model Silvertone during this search?

Larry Crandell

[De Soto Frank]

Larry,

I think yours probably had the gold highlights from new... this was a $200 machine according to the ads, so it was a premium offering for Sears.


I did find mine, in ads from June '20 - a modest model VIII "Adam Period" $80 or $4.50 monthly...

I think that places it roughly with the VV-X.


Second page, second from left in this ad:


https://books.google.com/books?id=xCkDA ... ph&f=false

[estott]

Sears really did give the customer a lot of bang for the buck in the higher end machines

[De Soto Frank]

Sears really did give the customer a lot of bang for the buck in the higher end machines

I was fairly impressed by the "modest" model VIII... mine is golden oak, the Saal two-spring motor is very stout and quiet...

My biggest criticisms are with the design of the tone-arm vertical joint (air-leaks) and the horn design... sounds "puny" compared to a Victor or Columbia, but maybe mine has some issues I haven't discovered yet.

In my younger days, when I was more into antique radios, I used to turn my nose up at Silvertone prodcuts... they seemed cheesy compared to produsts from Philco, Zenith, etc.

I fear I carried that prejudice on to my Talking Machine collecting.

I will no longer snub a machine "just because" it's a Silvertone.