Decca Dulcephone "Trench" Model 1 - Restoration Questions

[mbhdesign]

Hello Burtemg,

That's an excellent machine! You have the "improved" tone arm I see with much better tracking than my older "right-angle" arm.
I'd love to see details of the motor if it is possible, thank you!

Many thanks,
Michael

[Curt A]

I have studied old handwriting on hundreds, if not thousands, of historic handwritten documents for genealogy. One thing that I learned is if a letter or number is in question, it is best identified by comparison to a known example written by the same hand in the same document. I can see how you got 18 from the document, but a 3 is written similarly to an 8 and there is a nearby 3 that is clearly identifiable. Since there seems to be a dating problem with 1918, my opinion is that the date is actually 1913.

Screenshot 2024-10-21 at 8.04.13 PM.png (200.79 KiB) Viewed 2691 times

[mbhdesign]

I agree with your approach. However, it is not a “3” as the lower curve in the figure is not faded ink, but a partial round indent in the paper.

If you look carefully and zoom in on the images on page one of this thread, you may be able to discern the difference.

For my part, I do not believe there is any doubt that this is a 1918 machine - comprised of whatever shelf stock was available to meet the considerable demand at that time. All the elements present on the machine seem to confirm and uphold this estimate.

[Burtemg]

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[Burtemg]

[Burtemg]

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[Oedipus]

1913 is an improbable date for the completion of a Decca, given that it was not introduced until the summer of 1914.

I will attach a photo of the label on the maroon model -- it could be June 30th 1915. But why the full stop between the1and the 5?

And I wonder what the abbreviation before the word Decca stands for -- looks like 'jam.'

[Dulcetto]

I have studied old handwriting on hundreds, if not thousands, of historic handwritten documents for genealogy. One thing that I learned is if a letter or number is in question, it is best identified by comparison to a known example written by the same hand in the same document. I can see how you got 18 from the document, but a 3 is written similarly to an 8 and there is a nearby 3 that is clearly identifiable. Since there seems to be a dating problem with 1918, my opinion is that the date is actually 1913.


Screenshot 2024-10-21 at 8.04.13 PM.png

Definitiely 5 . 05 . 18 -- even with my aged eyes I can see the full figure of the numeral 8 and as Oedipus says , it can't be a 3 as the Decca was not placed on the market until a year later .