New Merlin Phonograph Company

[tictalk]

Looking for information and parts for a New Merlin Phonograph, I thought I would have learned from past mistakes on buying incomplete machines , but I purchased this machine which is missing the motor, motor board, tonearm, reproducer, turntable, crank and horn, basically everything except the cabinet. It was cheap enough that it wont break the bank if I cant complete, any help with parts or anyone else that has heard of New Merlin would be appreciated. Thanks Larry

[Granby]

Beautiful! … love an off brand phonograph in such a beautiful cabinet. I'll defer to others more experienced than myself for more detailed recommendations on period appropriate parts.

My first instinct would be any of the tonearms, motors, or other hardware advertised in the late teens in TMW from one of the well known wholesalers would be appropriate on this piece. I would find a "donor" off brand that is not otherwise salvageable (meaning the cabinet is beyond repair) and go from there.... just my two cents.

[Curt A]

Beautiful! … love an off brand phonograph in such a beautiful cabinet. I'll defer to others more experienced than myself for more detailed recommendations on period appropriate parts.

My first instinct would be any of the tonearms, motors, or other hardware advertised in the late teens in TMW from one of the well known wholesalers would be appropriate on this piece. I would find a "donor" off brand that is not otherwise salvageable (meaning the cabinet is beyond repair) and go from there.... just my two cents.

I agree, since I have never seen a New Merlin phonograph in the past 50 years or even heard of one (not that I am the expert on off brand machines), I would find the best quality generic parts that would have been used on other higher quality machines of that period and go from there. Since I am not an absolute "purist", I would even consider using parts from a Sonora or other well made machine, since I would want a tonearm/reproducer set that would play all types of records... If you are concerned about the name inside the reproducer not matching, make a paper disc with New Merlin printed on it and install it behind the mica... No one will really know, since no one has seen a New Merlin machine and it will at least look correct. This is a worthwhile project... and you may never find anything that was actually labeled "New Merlin" - again, just my opinion which isn't worth much. Motors and turntables aren't so important (IMO) as long as they fit and the crank lines up with the hole in the cabinet...

A high quality Fletcher tonearm would work well, the better ones were all brass and they were common on higher quality off brand machines.
Here is one that Cliff had for sale several years ago. It has a weight that can be set for regular 78s, Pathés or Edison Diamond Discs...
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29282&hilit=+fletcher+tonearm

Here are a couple of possibilities from eBay (and I wouldn't rule out Sonora parts):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sonora ... 0005.m1851

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-C-1920 ... 2946427270

Make sure when looking for tonearms that the seller is including the mounting base for the cabinet, since a lot of listings have no base.

[audiophile102]

I did a google search for The New Merlin Phonograph Company and found nothing. I have read that rarity doesn't necessarily translate into value, however in this case I think that you have something special. Investing in a generic mechanism will add to the beauty of the cabinet and you might just have the one and only Merlin in existence! Congratulations and good luck with the restoration.

[phonosandradios]

I agree with all the above. It is such a fantastic cabinet something needs to be put in there. I think if it were mine I would (as suggested above) put good quality period correct generic parts in there. I would ask Greg Kline to do a decal for the inside of the lid to match the writing "The new Merlin" and get a card insert made for the reproducer with again "The new merlin" on it in the style of that writing. Everything would then match and it would look superb.

[tictalk]

Thanks for the advice, I will endeavor to get it playing again.

[dzavracky]

That might be the nicest looking cabinet I’ve ever seen

[MTPhono]

Great find and definitely a worthwhile project. Good luck and looking forward to the final result.

Scott

[Henry]

If you have the patience to look through a mass of material, the St. Louis City Directories are digitized and available on line. Just Google "St. Louis City Directories" and you'll see a link to the pages. Narrow down the search to a likely set of years when this style of Phonograph might have been produced, and see what comes up. I spent about a half hour this afternoon poking around in the 1918 edition and didn't find a reference to [New] Merlin Phonograph Co., but a more diligent searcher might turn up something.

See http://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ ... eor/page/2

I agree with the other posts that have commented on the exceptional beauty of this cabinet! What a nice find, and a real treasure that (so far as we know) might be a unique survivor. Well done!

[Granby]

Henry posted some great advice. If you're looking at this from a historical/research perspective, the city directories are a great start. Maybe 1917 - 1923ish?? Also, digitized newspapers and corporate records from the time era may show something.

I am inclined to think the phonograph and company are pretty rare. I couldn't find much of anything, either. I did see a listing for a New Merlin phonograph at a retailer from the period. There was no other info - the name just appears in a "list format" with other machines. Good luck!