The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

That is one amazing cabinet. Looking forward to seeing it restored to a working machine.

Barry

I'd go out on a limb and say a Japanese artist did it- the work shows great panache and assurance, and it is not a lifeless copy of something out of a book. It has life to it.

I've had a knowledgeable Asian collector (although not Japanese) tell me that he believes it to be Western because -- a) the characters (pictograms) are not from any language; they are merely imitative random brush strokes. They are visible on the upper right horn door center panel and on the lower right side of the underside of the lid. I think that the initials 'G.B.' may be in the center. I'm still contemplating the front door inscription; b) the colors are not exactly those used in authentic Japanese lacquer; c) Although I was hoping that all of the panels depicted some famous Japanese ghost story/love story, the Asian collector feels that these scenes are not related to one another, and that the inspration may have been one of several books that author Lafcadio Hearn wrote about the subject in the late-1800's-early 1900's, such as 'In Ghostly Japan'.

JohnM wrote:I've had a knowledgeable Asian collector (although not Japanese) tell me that he believes it to be Western because -- a) the characters (pictograms) are not from any language; they are merely imitative random brush strokes. They are visible on the upper right horn door center panel and on the lower right side of the underside of the lid. I think that the initials 'G.B.' may be in the center. I'm still contemplating the front door inscription; b) the colors are not exactly those used in authentic Japanese lacquer; c) Although I was hoping that all of the panels depicted some famous Japanese ghost story/love story, the Asian collector feels that these scenes are not related to one another, and that the inspration may have been one of several books that author Lafcadio Hearn wrote about the subject in the late-1800's-early 1900's, such as 'In Ghostly Japan'.

I agree that the artist was a talented gaijin: a Japanese artist would have known his calligraphy.

Bill

This would be the perfect machine to play records from The Mikado or Madama Butterfly on!!!

John,

So very cool!

Gene

I could totally see this in a brothel or night club. Just very cool.

Garret