Good grief, only 9? That is an amazing haul, some machines that never show up in the US. The Spring Motor with Bettini attachment is really great. So how many phonos were at the auction in total? Were there other amazing machines that you did not purchase?
schweg wrote:Good grief, only 9? That is an amazing haul, some machines that never show up in the US. The Spring Motor with Bettini attachment is really great. So how many phonos were at the auction in total? Were there other amazing machines that you did not purchase?
Steve S
Hi
Thanks for all the replies, There were 27 machines at the auction and quite a few collectors. I had to let them get some too
9 is a lot to bring home from one auction but, gramophone auction don't happen that often in Australia. So when they come up I go nuts
noedison, I would like to see the info on the Lux, thanks. Unfortunately the fibre gear in the motor is stripped, I will have to get another made, do you know if this is the right reproducer? The rest are all fantastic, we did party all weekend and still are. The Lux has a dealer tag Disques et Phonos Mason Raphael 75 Rue de Rome Marseille.
Hi
This is an article from a Sydney newspaper about the auction.
"Long before the iPad, the iPod, long before the Discman and the Walkman, and, well, way back around the time of Neanderthal man, the gramophone was the cutting edge of home entertainment. Some were squeaky, some were ornate, and some were downright bizarre - like one, manufactured about 1923, that looks like a statue of Buddha, with the enlightened one converting into a speaker when required. The collectable oddity is one of 35 gramophones that belonged to the corporate raider Robert Holmes a Court, who died in 1990. Our antique audio correspondent, Steve Meacham, tells us the Holmes a Court treasure trove of antique musical devices had been gathering dust at Heytesbury Stud, the family's thoroughbred operation in Western Australia, but they will all be auctioned in Annandale today. Martin Farrah, the managing director of Lawsons Auctioneers, told Meacham the story of how Holmes a Court acquired them was as fascinating as the objects themselves. ''There was a Spanish bloke who was doing some business with Robert just before he died. The guy was a bit cash-poor and couldn't pay. So Robert agreed to take his gramophone collection instead. I think Robert thought he might develop an interest in the collection when he retired.'' But sadly Holmes a Court died of a heart attack, aged just 53. The auction also includes some 78rpm records. As for what ''records'' are, well, sit on our knee, and we'll tell you all about them …"