New Machine - Grafonola upright.... now with pictures !

[De Soto Frank]

Picked-up a "new" machine today: a Columbia Grafonola B246xx, in mahogany, with a tip-out record storage "drawer".



It has the vertical shutter-front, with control knob on the crank side, at the front.

Hardware is nickled.


Needs a good cleaning, but seems to be intact and functional.


Any ideas as to approximate vintage ?


( Will upload pics as soon as digi-cam is recharged...)

[marcapra]

Columbia made machines with those features between 1914 and 1924 I think. Pics would help. I have a 150 model with the lettered bins that tilt out A,B,C,D with the C missing. Mine is in walnut and in great condition with good casters. Marc.

[De Soto Frank]

First batch of pictures...

[De Soto Frank]

2nd batch of pics

[De Soto Frank]

3rd batch...

[De Soto Frank]

Last batch of photos...

[Henry]

Nice looking machine, Frank---congrats!

How's that Zenith radio work? I remember a similar AM-FM tuner in a Zenith radio-phonograph console from the early '50s that my dad bought. My brother still has it, but the turntable mechanism is kaput and I don't believe the radio works any more either. Many a Lone Ranger and Superman episode rode/flew out of its speaker, back in the day!

What, if anything, is known today about "Columbia Hall"?

[De Soto Frank]

The Zenith table-top is untested, and from the same shop as the Grafonola. It is AM, old FM ?, & Short-wave. Model 7S633 or 78633.

The cord is really crunchy, so that needs replacement before testing.

The object it is sitting on top-of( under the blankets) is a late 1940's Zenith console, AM-FM (both bands!),shortwave, with a Cobra-matic (78-only) record changer.


The dial & function tabs on the table radio are remarkably similar to those on the console.


The Grafonola is pretty solid... it's funny, I felt that a floor-model, shutter-front G-fonola was lacking from my collection, and I was on the verge of placing a WTB ad in the Yankee Trader dept.

I had spotted this one in a local shop about three weeks ago, bearing a "sold tag"... I kept checking-in, and this Saturday it was still there, so I asked about it, and they gave me a reasonable price, and it came home me.

I'm still sorry I passed on a very nice barrel-front Grafonola in "Golden oak" several years back...

[jimmantwo]

I think it is so cool when the name of the company or store that sold the machine is indicated. Sometimes it is stenciled on the machine and sometimes there is a brass or steel nameplate. Gives the machine some provenance. Most of what I have found are from cities or companies in the northeast (which makes sense).
One of my recent finds was evidently purchased from Lit Brother in Philadelphia.

[gregbogantz]

Zenith model numbers in the mid 1930s up to WWII were very descriptive of what the model was. The first "7" in the model number of your 7S633 indicates that it has 7 tubes. The "S" indicates that it is a 110 volt transformer-powered AC mains set. The 600 series were from model year 1942, and the remaining digits indicate the cabinet style.

The tone control tabs on the side of the dial were a version of what Zenith called the "Radiorgan" extended tone control system which began in the 1939 models. This was a popular feature which Zenith continued for several model years on most of their more elaborate sets, both table models and consoles.

Zenith radios and radio/phonos from this period are very collectible. They are also probably the best-documented of all the American radio brands which makes it easy to find out about them. Three books authored by H. Cones and J. Bryant are available from Schiffer and provide excellent in-depth and thorough coverage of these collectible Zeniths.