Canadian Berliner C variant

[Rick E]

When Berliner set up his company in Canada, the usual Berliner Model C gramophone paralleled the Victor M talking machine. It had a 10 inch turntable, a front mounted horn, an oak case with a hinged top, and a double spring motor. Here is a mahogany Berliner C (C120) that is more like the first Victor Monarch (Type M early style) by Eldridge Johnson. The top is not hinged, so the motor is accessed through a hole in the top board. The motor is single spring. My early Victor Monarch is like this Berliner C. The top is not hinged, and it has a single spring motor.

This leads to several questions. Did the early Victor Monarchs usually have a single spring motor? If not, is this one unusual or has it been altered over the years?

More importantly, does anyone have other examples of the Berliner C, either in oak or in mahogany, that have a fixed top and a single spring motor? If so, what is its serial number? A survey of Berliner C's carried out under the auspices of the Canadian Antique Phonograph Society, identified 6 of the usual forms of the Berliner C (hinged top, double spring motor), and this one variant.

[phonogfp]

The earliest of the Victor Monarchs did indeed have single mainsprings.

George P.