Interesting Amberola 1-A on eBay

[FloridaClay]

While it would need a lot of work to restore, there is an interesting looking Amberola 1-A on eBay now if you are in the Pennsylvania area and have the skills and/or the $$$$ to put it right.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edison-A-1-Ambe ... 7400431%26

Clay

[Jerry B.]

What a great project machine. I wonder what will be the final sale price. Any predictions? Jerry

[FloridaClay]

What a great project machine. I wonder what will be the final sale price. Any predictions? Jerry

I've added it to my eBay watch list just to find out.

Clay

[barnettrp21122]

I usually email the seller requesting the reserve price info. They often let you know, and if its unreasonable I will not have wasted any time considering it further. Bob.

[dutchman]

Yes will be interesting to see what this eventually sells for.

I have a Amberola 1-B cabinet sitting in my shed. Was given to me long time ago. It was in a
barn and someone took the motor. The horn and woodwork which surrounded the motor is also there.
Shame.

Been on the lookout for a 1-B motor and parts but have never seen any.

[CarGuyZM10]

I would love to have one of these, and it within driving distance, but not for that price!

Is that a reasonable price for this machine? What would a nice one cost?

[FloridaClay]

Oh, I would pay $500 for it (what it is at the moment) in a heartbeat, but I suspect it is going to get a lot higher.

Clay

[Andersun]

Is that a reasonable price for this machine? What would a nice one cost?

Personally, I wouldn't pay more than $1000.00 for it. It's got too many issues. When I purchased mine, I didn't care about the wood. It could always be restored and look great. I looked for a machine which had a nice original bed plate finish. I paid around 4k for it and spent another 1K for a nice piano finish. The result is here......

http://victrolagramophones.proboards.co ... age=1#5599

I real nice example would be in the neighborhood of $5000.00 to $6000.00. However, most of them have issues particularly with the maroon type bed-plate finishes having cracks and missing pieces. Pretty much complete ones with flaws but good furniture go for around $4,000.00.

You can plus or minus $500.00 to $1000.00 depending on type of wood (Oak or Mahogany), and style of grill (Rococo vs. Lyre). Of course walnut would probably exceed the $6,000.00 limit if it was real nice!

All of this is my opinion based on my experience when I was looking for one.

Steve

[gregbogantz]

Will somebody please clarify the cabinet makers of these several Amberola 1 designs? It is my understanding that the first cabinets were made by Herzog, as stated in George Frow's book. Frow also states that there were both the "lyre" grille and the "early rococo" grille available from Herzog. The remaining cabinets were made by Pooley and had a different "later" style rococo grille which has a little less gingerbread. But apparently, there were a few of the last Herzog cabinets that had the later rococo grille. See the attached photo of the three cabinets. I would assume that all three of these are Herzog cabinets. All the cabinets look pretty much the same with the same simple concave lid sides and flat plank tops that extend over the curved sides of the lid. But the one on the left has the Pooley style grille. The middle example is the early rococo which seems to be very rare - I don't think I've ever seen one outside of pictures. The other picture is of a Pooley cabinet (happens to be a 1B). The lid is considerably different with an ogee shape to the lid sides and the top not hanging over the sides (unfortunately, it doesn't show in this picture. The trim below the lid is different as are most other details of the cabinet. The easiest way to tell the difference is that the Herzog cabinet front door goes all the way to the bottom of the cabinet. Whereas the Pooley cabinet has a rail at the bottom of the cabinet that frames the door which is inset at the bottom. George P? Can anybody comment?

[estott]

Didn't Brunswick make some cabinets for Edison?