Worse off-brand I have ever seen

[briankeith]

Check this ugly duckling out on EBay !!!

[estott]

If the arm was repaired and everything polished and restored that would actually be pretty cute. I've seen a similar one where the body was two thick pieces of mahogany.

[1923VictorFan]

Guess what?!
I know all about this rare and valuable phonograph...

The story starts in the year 1917 hunched down in a muddy trench with company of American troops somewhere in the French countryside. Only 50 yards away lay an equal number of the enemy in their own water filled ditch. The American soldiers were bored and had frequently talked about the Victrolas back home...if only they had a Victrola! Well that's all Pvt. Whistler needed to hear. He carved and whitled all night and the following night he crafted the necessary metal parts. It was the 3rd night that The American trenches became a dance-hall of sorts! Early the next morning those American troops rose from their filthy trench and flushed the enemy from their trenches driving them hundreds of yards away! The record they had played was no other than "The Yanks are Commin!".

Well? Is it good enough for an eBay listing?
Category: Musical WWI Trench Art

[estott]

Well Gentlemen, I'm bidding on it- and is it really much different that this recently featured machine?

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=6817

[briankeith]

Now - on the "other side of the collectiing spectrum", check this one out!!
YIKES!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pathé-Menestrel ... 1360713812

[New Owner]

That looks like someone took a wood block and carved out a cavity for a motor and horn. Likely someone's rainy day project long, long ago.

[JDS]

Might be an "Orpheus" talking machine. See -- Page 215, "The Talking Machine an Illustrated Compendium," by Fabrizio & Paul.

Mentioned here -- http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mD ... raph&hl=en

[estott]

It's commercially made, has a makers plate marked McCoy, Newark NJ. It's a reflex design- the sound reflects into the horn cavity and then out- the Angelus Co. of Boston used the principal. There's a near twin of this ihn one of the Fabrizio books....I've misplaced my copy, someone COULD look it up if they can spare a few minutes from making lame jokes

[AZ*]

The one on page 215 of the F&P Compendium (1st ed) is called an Orpheus from Newark, NJ.

I saw one of these types of machines (not sure what brand) at the Union show a few years ago. It was actually kind of neat.

[gramophoneshane]

Well Gentlemen, I'm bidding on it- and is it really much different that this recently featured machine?

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... f=2&t=6817

Good luck with the bidding Eric. I also think it's a cute little machine & very deserving of restoration. I'd imagine the McCoy company wasn't around for all that long, and had a fairly small output, so there cant be an aweful lot of these still floating around.
I think it's quirky design makes it far more interesting than many similar machines that stuck to more conventional designs, and I cant see the sound quality being any worse than a Pal portable or Decca Junior- & no doubt it sounds better than a Pixie Grippa or one of the small camera type machines.
It also looks like it'd be very easy to get back to "as new" condition.

Personally, I've always found a room full of Edison & Victor/HMV machines a little boring because you've seen them all before in other collections, and it's the more unusual machines like this that grab my attention. And when all is said and done, these little odd ball machines still deserve their place in phono history IMO.
Good luck again.