Decca 'Deccalian' "Cellarette" gramophone genuine?

[Steve]

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auct ... 9d9211cf24

This takes disguising a gramophone as something else to a new level of strangeness! But is it genuine? I personally don't think so but if anyone's interested I'll explain why.........

I'm happy to hear from collectors who might already own one though!

[Lah Ca]

Just of the top of my head and with no particular depth of knowledge to inform my impressions, I would say that if it is a fake, it is a very good and very old one.

The only things that are slightly off looking are the hinges for the lid which look a bit too modern and the trim around the bottom and the feet--the wood and finish here with these latter two not quite matching.

The quality of the wood work is very good given the complexity of the form--lots of compound angles to cut and fit. Not school woodworking class joinery.

And there is what we might call (clothing) sleeve/button wear on the finish in the area defined by the rotation of the crank. If the machine is a fake, it has either been used extensively for a long time or someone has cleverly gone to a lot of trouble to counterfeit the wear.

Cosmetically, if it were on a shelf or fireplace mantel with the lid closed, it would look like a cremation urn/box that might contain some distant ancestor's or favoured hunting dog's ashes.

[jamiegramo]

The Decca Cellarette (not cellerette as the auction house seems to think) is indeed somewhat strange perhaps I was also a little suspicious of it. Presumably not a Decca catalogued item and I doubt it would be. I wondered if it was put together by someone who worked for the company utilising a cellarette they already owned. The Deccalian transfer appears correct... I note the motorboard wood grain doesn’t quite match the surrounding wood, as do the two side panels in the lid, but that could be incidental.

[jamiegramo]

Just of the top of my head and with no particular depth of knowledge to inform my impressions, I would say that if it is a fake, it is a very good and very old one.

The only things that are slightly off looking are the hinges for the lid which look a bit too modern and the trim around the bottom and the feet--the wood and finish here with these latter two not quite matching.

The quality of the wood work is very good given the complexity of the form--lots of compound angles to cut and fit. Not school woodworking class joinery.

And there is what we might call (clothing) sleeve/button wear on the finish in the area defined by the rotation of the crank. If the machine is a fake, it has either been used extensively for a long time or someone has cleverly gone to a lot of trouble to counterfeit the wear.

Cosmetically, if it were on a shelf or fireplace mantel with the lid closed, it would look like a cremation urn/box that might contain some distant ancestor's or favoured hunting dog's ashes.

I don’t think it’s a fake as such. I think the cellarette is likely an early 20th Century piece made in the Georgian style converted into a gramophone sometime in the 1920s. But by whom? Someone at the factory (perhaps a commission) or someone else who bought the parts in.

[Steve]

Interesting! I agree with both of you so far: the hinges look like standard B & Q door hinges and not the long piano hinge normally found on Deccalian models but the two side infill panels used to infill the shape of the lid to both sides of the "Dulciflex" (which otherwise appears to be a 'standard' one used in the Boudoir model) appear to be stained softwood and not mahogany? Certainly, to my eyes, they do not match the rest of the cabinet or the Dulciflex.

The other "issue" I have is the miniscule width of motor-board framing at the front of the cabinet. I've never seen anything like it on ANY gramophone. The motor-board is a cut-down version of the square one used in the Boudoir model but why have that thin strip of timber (½ - ¾"?) at the front? It certainly looks odd. The frame around the motor-board does not appear to be fixed down either.

I agree that it's not a recent conversion and of itself, not badly done.

[Steve]

Just of the top of my head and with no particular depth of knowledge to inform my impressions, I would say that if it is a fake, it is a very good and very old one.

The only things that are slightly off looking are the hinges for the lid which look a bit too modern and the trim around the bottom and the feet--the wood and finish here with these latter two not quite matching.

The quality of the wood work is very good given the complexity of the form--lots of compound angles to cut and fit. Not school woodworking class joinery.

And there is what we might call (clothing) sleeve/button wear on the finish in the area defined by the rotation of the crank. If the machine is a fake, it has either been used extensively for a long time or someone has cleverly gone to a lot of trouble to counterfeit the wear.

Cosmetically, if it were on a shelf or fireplace mantel with the lid closed, it would look like a cremation urn/box that might contain some distant ancestor's or favoured hunting dog's ashes.

I don’t think it’s a fake as such. I think the cellarette is likely an early 20th Century piece made in the Georgian style converted into a gramophone sometime in the 1920s. But by whom? Someone at the factory (perhaps a commission) or someone else who bought the parts in.

My thoughts exactly!

[Steve]

And there is what we might call (clothing) sleeve/button wear on the finish in the area defined by the rotation of the crank. If the machine is a fake, it has either been used extensively for a long time or someone has cleverly gone to a lot of trouble to counterfeit the wear.

Is that not just UV damage where it's been sat partially in a window reveal / bay window? It looks sun bleached and heat damaged to me rather than scuffed by hands / clothing.

[Steve]

I did ask the auctioneers for very specific additional photos and confirmation on whether the motor is working. This was 10 days ago but all they've said was that they would respond "nearer to the day of the auction". Very helpful indeed.

[jamiegramo]

And there is what we might call (clothing) sleeve/button wear on the finish in the area defined by the rotation of the crank. If the machine is a fake, it has either been used extensively for a long time or someone has cleverly gone to a lot of trouble to counterfeit the wear.

Is that not just UV damage where it's been sat partially in a window reveal / bay window? It looks sun bleached and heat damaged to me rather than scuffed by hands / clothing.

Either UV damage or something damp has been stored against it.

[recordmaker]

Although I don't think it has been mentioned specifically, I assume this is based on a wine decanter box or Cellertte and as such it could have been a combination of gramophone and existing antique or reproduction antique , the bowl reflector in the lid is very nice looking which would have been tricky to make but it is a turned bowl so lots are still made to this quality . Possibly we forget the in the 1920s there were workshops with cabinet makers making bespoke stuff in all cities in the UK. Not suggestive of something done since 1950.

Also termed a sarcophagus wine cooler I note.