'Worst Phonograph Description On Craigslist' contest

[schweg]

"NICE MAHONY VICTROLA - $150 (FROSTBURG, MD)


Ah Ha, now we know what happened to Jerry Mahoney when he retired!!

Long before he was the voice of 'Tigger' in the Winnie the Pooh series, Paul Winchell and his puppet pal Jerry Mahoney starred in many early TV programs; the first was on NBC in 1948 called The Bigelow Show. (1948 was the first year that the networks began programming seven nights a week; in fact, NBC had only 9 regular series on the air in 1947.)

I wonder if there's a rare Knucklehead Smithophone out there somewhere in storage just waiting to be discovered...

Steve

[JohnM]

Thanks for posting that, Schweg! I was going to make reference to them in my comment on that listing, but I wasn't sure how obscure the reference was going to be. I'm glad you posted it!

[antique1973]

The description isn't so crazy aside from the fact that RCA was not part of Victrola when this was built. The big question is: where did that tone arm come from??


http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/atq/1782088792.html

[SignatureSeriesOwner]

Well, they had "Originally sold through Sears" in the description, and that looks like a Silvertone tonearm.

[antique1973]

Man, that's a travesty. A Silvertone tone arm on a Victrola.

[gramophoneshane]

It probably sounds better than with the old goose neck tonearm and exhibition soundbox.

[JohnM]

Look at the position of the needle cups and other hardware in the turntable compartment -- definitely not Victor. It may be a Silvertone.

[estott]

The thing against it being a Silvertone is the doors over the horn- Silvertone always used fretwork (until the Orthophonic era). Maybe we've got a Victor cabinet with a Silvertone motorboard in it.

[schweg]

John- I just couldn't resist the Mahoney reference. Seems the older I get, the more these repressed childhood memories come slidin' out of my brain... It's Howdy Doody time!!

Also, I agree w/ estott, I've not seen a Silvertone w/ doors over the internal horn. I have 2 floor models w/ fancy trim, one mahog & one oak and they are attractive phonographs w/ ornate grills.

[estott]

The higher end Silvertone models are very handsome, the mahogany ones especially with the gold hardware and purple velvet turntable covering looking quite rich against the mahogany finish. Sears gave you a lot of bang for your buck.