Anyone know what this is ?

[Gramtastic]

This is in a local auction - anyone recognise it from the poor photo ?

[TinfoilPhono]

No idea what it is, but the red paint on the inside of the horn is typical of many European phonographs.

[Gramtastic]

No other ideas ????

[Dulcetto]

As mentioned ,could be by any number of European manufacturers ,supplied wholesale for the cheap end of the market. Probably supplied without brand name , or just whatever the wholesaler ordered to be printed on the paper insert glued inside the back of the sound - box. Looks like the sound - box with it may be a later addition ,possibly bought by its owner as an improvement on the sound-box originally sold with it. These cheaper-end-of-the-market traveling arm machines were still being mad as late as just before WW1 by such makers as Thorens , Lindstrom etc. There is an illustration of something similar in a re-printed Thorens gramophone catalogue of around 1913.Anyway -- I shall be bidding on it !!-Dulcetto-

[Gramtastic]

Had to buy it ! The machine is incredibly original down to the original felt on the turntable and works perfectly. The faux woodgraining is really well done and the "inlaid" gold stripes are quite distinctive. Anyone seen another like this ?

[barnettrp21122]

It looks much happier out of the box, cleaned up and reassembled! Nice save!
Bob

[Gramtastic]

Thanks to the comment about Thorens, I have found a picture of a 1907 Thorens "Helvetia" which looks almost identical apart from the horn.

[jboger]

Thanks so much for posting the pictures and the catalogue pages. Sitting in the box (your first picture), my curiosity was piqued as I have a soft spot for front-mount machines. Now I see it all back together. What a great machine.

[Dulcetto]

Ahh -- I knew I had seen a picture of this model somewhere in a machine catalogue --- Yep -- you definitely have a Thorens Helvetia -- the reason the horn on your newly acquired example is different from the one in the Thorens catalogue is that someone has previously married your Helvetia base to a horn from a Zonophone travelling arm machine -- looks like some butchery of the horn has taken place on the way ! Travelling arm machines of the style that have a witches hat type horn supported by a Y shaped yoke , usually have extra "mounting racks" fitted to the side of the horn, which also allow for several positions of the pivot point , so that manual adjustment of the pivot point position can be effected to allow for slight manufacturing variations in horn length and weight distribution , also depending on weight of sound-box used. Otherwise , nice unusual machine !Interestingly , Thorens used the model name Helvetia for several quite different models they manufactured over the years , both cylinder and disc players. Then I suppose that was expected patriotism -- Helvetia being the Latin name for Switzerland Dulcetto