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Hello,
I bought pathefono "Italy" on Italian eBay auktion. Is it genuine or fake? Or it consists of both original and non-originals parts? I mean e.g. horn, which is made of brass (whereas horns are mostly made of steel or tin). I found very little information about this gramophone model on the Internet. I'd be grateful for any help and tips.
Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
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Shurber
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2023 8:35 am
Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
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drh
- Victor IV
- Posts: 1430
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- Personal Text: A Pathé record...with care will live to speak to your grandchildren when they are as old as you are
- Location: Silver Spring, MD
Re: Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
Looks genuine to me. The back bracket is characteristically Pathé and that's definitely a Pathé motor. The horn looks right, or at least of the right vintage; others more versed in the variations of Pathé can chime in there. The reproducer speaks for itself (sorry!), and I see nothing that calls the cabinet into question, although Pathé cabinets seem to vary a lot. Very pretty machine!
One thing that isn't there: a vertical cut reproducer for Pathé's own sapphire cut records. That would have been the "standard" for this machine, with the lateral cut reproducer that's on it as an "accessory" to play standard lateral cut records. But that's not a matter of "inauthentic"; it just reflects that lateral cut won the battle of the formats, and whoever owned the machine before you left it set up for the prevailing format. You might want to keep an eye on eBay for a vertical cut reproducer to add to your machine down the line. Swapping them out is just a matter of loosening that thumbscrew on top of the tonearm, sliding out the lateral reproducer on its stem, sliding in the vertical one, and re-tightening the thumbscrew.
One thing that isn't there: a vertical cut reproducer for Pathé's own sapphire cut records. That would have been the "standard" for this machine, with the lateral cut reproducer that's on it as an "accessory" to play standard lateral cut records. But that's not a matter of "inauthentic"; it just reflects that lateral cut won the battle of the formats, and whoever owned the machine before you left it set up for the prevailing format. You might want to keep an eye on eBay for a vertical cut reproducer to add to your machine down the line. Swapping them out is just a matter of loosening that thumbscrew on top of the tonearm, sliding out the lateral reproducer on its stem, sliding in the vertical one, and re-tightening the thumbscrew.
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OnlineCarlosV
- Victor V
- Posts: 2151
- Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:18 am
- Location: Luxembourg
Re: Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
It also looks genuine to me, apart from the winder. Pathé made a number of models dedicated to the Italian market, and this seems to be one of them. Pathé also sold a brass horn that resembles the one in the photo.
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Steve
- Victor VI
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:40 pm
- Location: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, Evesham
Re: Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
As others have said already, it is completely genuine and based on the Pathéphone No. 4, albeit for the Italian Market. The additional decoration is typically Italian styling so fits with the cabinet.
Those horns were made in brass as well as Carlos has said.
Those horns were made in brass as well as Carlos has said.
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Shurber
- Victor Jr
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2023 8:35 am
Re: Pathefono "Italy" - fake or original?
Thank you all so much for replies!