A rip off?

[Steve]

Well, maybe I was a little harsh in my judgement, having said that I found the price too high, not that I have that kind of moolah anyway, so its a moot point. One of my other interests is uranium glass and I have more dud buys than good ones, so I am wary by default.

Yes, I think you were very harsh. It is not an outrageous price. Go and find another triple spring Senior Monarch with original MG horn at a much cheaper price, if you can. There's a lot of talking down prices in the current market but the fact remains that good, original machines of this ilk still command decent prices unless they are sold in auctions with next to no photos or description (and no comeback if they don't work or parts are missing when you get them).

I'm assuming this market is in Europe, in which case the price is very reasonable as, in general, prices are much higher on the continent than they are here in the UK. I don't think you need to sit in a corner with a dunce's cap on however, as what you're prepared to pay is solely up to you and no one else's business but insulting the seller probably won't put you in good stead for going back with your tail between your legs, eating humble pie.

I suggest you do what I did over the weekend to help out a friend who was rather desperately trying to buy a Pembroke table off Ebay worth around £5000-6000 when restored. Whilst it needs a lot of specialist restoration work (which he wants to do himself) he'd somehow got the price down from £850 to £725 via informal talk with the seller but the seller was obviously getting a little impatient when he tried to haggle further (even though I much doubt the seller knew its real value) so I suggested I should make a fresh play for it by submitting a formal offer at a lower price, anticipating the seller might give up and "take the next firm offer" OR accept my friend's offer which was higher than mine, either way, a win. I made an offer at £600 and won it immediately, much to the surprise of both of us........mind you, I do now have to collect it for him so it's not all smiles!

[Marco Gilardetti]

Were are you located, Slammer? Over here, you would scream "miracle" just at the mere sight of a genuine Senior Monarch at a flea market, whichever the asking price.

[slammer]

Were are you located, Slammer? Over here, you would scream "miracle" just at the mere sight of a genuine Senior Monarch at a flea market, whichever the asking price.

Bavaria... And seriously? This is the third one I have seen for sale this last two years.

[Inigo]

I'd love to have one but I'm at the end of my collecting career and my wife who would get angry if I buy this thing. Besides that the shipping costs to spend would be prohibitive!

[slammer]

Well, my friendly local gramophone dealer has one and he sells world wide. So he should know.

[Steve]

Were are you located, Slammer? Over here, you would scream "miracle" just at the mere sight of a genuine Senior Monarch at a flea market, whichever the asking price.

Bavaria... And seriously? This is the third one I have seen for sale this last two years.

This reminds me of an old Woody Allen joke: a married couple are both visiting their separate psychoanalysts at the same time. They get asked how often they have sex? The woman states "Constantly, maybe 2 to 3 times a week". The man replies to his "shrink": "Hardly ever, maybe 2 to 3 times a week!"

[slammer]

Well I have to admit that I am new to this game of gramophones and up until now I would not have recognised a Monarch superior if it had bitten me in the arse.
So I do plead innocent and as penance I will report on any such machine I find.

[epigramophone]

I'd love to have one but I'm at the end of my collecting career and my wife who would get angry if I buy this thing. Besides that the shipping costs to spend would be prohibitive!

I am 77 and bought an HMV193 with 200 records last weekend. These things keep my mind and body active, but having said that, they are still in my workshop. Bringing a 193 into a house already full of machines may not be easy.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Bavaria... And seriously? This is the third one I have seen for sale this last two years.

Absolutely serious. When external horn gramophones were popular, Germany was a much more wealthier country than Italy. If you want to own a gramophone of that type over here, you have to seek into cetral Europe. But in general, you almost never see gramophones of that level here: 95% of them are crap-o-phones, and the rest are usually forgettable for many other reasons.

I'd love to have one but I'm at the end of my collecting career and my wife who would get angry if I buy this thing. Besides that the shipping costs to spend would be prohibitive!

Should this help you taking a decision a dozen years ago I imported a superb Monarch II from Vienna. The horn and the cabinet were sent into two distinct parcels, with costs that I let you imagine. Never a single day came in which I regretted the money that I spent; all the contrary words can hardly express the constant joy that using such an outstanding machine has always given to me.

Well I have to admit that I am new to this game of gramophones and up until now I would not have recognised a Monarch superior if it had bitten me in the arse.
So I do plead innocent and as penance I will report on any such machine I find.

No need to apologise, we've been all beginners at a point in time, and still are at least under some sides. The literature about the European branches of the Gamophone Company is scarce compared to the abundance of that concerning the British HMV or American Victor. If you're interested in external horn machines in particular, there is a sir, in Germany of course (whose name I can't recall, but I'm sure someone else will come up with it), who sells replicas of period Gramophone Company catalogues. You might buy the most relevant ones and train your eyes to recognise each specific model by its distinctive details.

[Inigo]

What I would really love was to find a Spanish example of any of the great machines of 1910. I had an uncle that had his parent's one, a marvellous senior monarch with wood horn, with which I played as a teenager. But it was lost in the battles of life...