Dual Horn Phono on eBay??

[JerryVan]

I am fairly certain this is a made-up thing, as in "fake". The reproducer is obviously made using two Victor Exhibition back plates, mounted face-to-face. The horns are for a cylinder machine and probably reproductions at that. However, the bidding is over $500. I would very very leery about this machine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/365541769888?_ ... 1506.m1851

[gramophone-georg]

I stared at that several times and then nixed the idea. Too much there just does not add up. Bergman was a real company, but simply a dealer that seems to have had a relatively brief life in the mid 1920s, long after machines of this type were a "thing".

I think this is someone's fantasy build. Seems well done but certainly not an authentic machine, per se.

[JerryVan]

I stared at that several times and then nixed the idea. Too much there just does not add up. Bergman was a real company, but simply a dealer that seems to have had a relatively brief life in the mid 1920s, long after machines of this type were a "thing".

I think this is someone's fantasy build. Seems well done but certainly not an authentic machine, per se.

Thanks Georg. I'm going to feel bad for the eventual buyer.

[Raphael]

Jerry, I don’t think you need to feel bad for the buyer, it has value as a fantasy piece and if it brings joy to the new owner, that’s what is most important. I have several “fantasy” pieces in my collection, including the ersatz Edison coin-op that I just bought at Stanton’s. Having fun with an item sure beats out the uber-knowledgeable collector who is beside himself because he found a non-original part somewhere in the mechanism. Well, that’s my opinion, and I’m going to have my coffee now on my replica antique dining table, which I’ve never regretted buying 25 years ago. And, if I live long enough, it too will become an antique. But I doubt it.
Raphael

[JerryVan]

Jerry, I don’t think you need to feel bad for the buyer, it has value as a fantasy piece and if it brings joy to the new owner, that’s what is most important. I have several “fantasy” pieces in my collection, including the ersatz Edison coin-op that I just bought at Stanton’s. Having fun with an item sure beats out the uber-knowledgeable collector who is beside himself because he found a non-original part somewhere in the mechanism. Well, that’s my opinion, and I’m going to have my coffee now on my replica antique dining table, which I’ve never regretted buying 25 years ago. And, if I live long enough, it too will become an antique. But I doubt it.
Raphael

Raphael,

I agree completely, given the buyer has no illusions of originality. To their credit, the seller makes no such claims.

It was good speaking with you at the Gfell auction. Hope you did well there.

[Hailey]

Funny thing is...If this came up at a farm sale somewhere in the Midwest and the sale was widely advertised, every collector in 800 miles would be there and it would sell for as much as a car.

[JerryVan]

Funny thing is...If this came up at a farm sale somewhere in the Midwest and the sale was widely advertised, every collector in 800 miles would be there and it would sell for as much as a car.

I have my doubts about that.

[Hailey]

Funny thing is...If this came up at a farm sale somewhere in the Midwest and the sale was widely advertised, every collector in 800 miles would be there and it would sell for as much as a car.

I have my doubts about that.

I've seen phono guys battle it out over Edison Standards and a rusted-out Victor III that has set out all night in the rain and bidding easily went to the stratosphere...
Believe me...it happens.

[Sidewinder]

Apart from the 2 reproduction cylinder phonograph horns, the biggest giveaway for me is the 1930's Miraphone (St Croix) motor

[ChesterCheetah18]

Funny thing is...If this came up at a farm sale somewhere in the Midwest and the sale was widely advertised, every collector in 800 miles would be there and it would sell for as much as a car.

I have my doubts about that.

It does happen. I attended an auction several years ago that included an Edison Standard model D works in a model B case with a cygnet style horn made from a cut off Columbia oak horn mated to a radio horn neck (with A LOT of screws). It brought over $1000. There were also four or five boxes of 20-30 Gold Moulded cylinders, every one moldy, that brought $150+ each.

Steve