The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

FellowCollector wrote:Good looking dome top VTLA. It's entirely possible (and likely probable) that the knobs were removed intentionally (and the lid likely locked) by the mansion curator(s) to discourage visitors from opening them.

Doug

No they have been stolen , thieves target country houses, stealing anything they can lay there hands on

soundgen wrote:every time we went in the motors were completely wound down , speed controls altered so they wouldn't play properly when staff ( unfamiliar with gramophones ) tried to demonstrate them , a real nightmare

I can remember many years ago a collector friend of mine had a booth inside a large multi-dealer antique shop with a few of his Victrolas for sale with records mounted on each of them. He told me that he always had a needle mounted in the sound box for each and he placed a little bent piece of cardboard on the turntable with "Please ask front desk for assistance to demonstrate". The front desk person had all of the cranks.

Well, it seems there was a devious competing phonograph dealer in the same antique shop who would always secretly remove the needle in all of my buddy's Victrolas and he would replace each needle in each sound box upside down so that anytime the person at the front desk wanted to demonstrate one of his Victrolas for a customer the Victrola would sound awful or not play at all! The front desk person always complained to my friend that his Victrolas needed repair and on inspection he would always find the needle was upside down in the sound box. Oh boy...

Doug

MC2300 wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 10:43 pm I spotted this Victor at the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota this morning. Was hoping to see others as the mansion was built from 1905-09, in the heyday of phonographs, but was the only one.

You missed the Credenza X over in the corner, in the same room!

soundgen wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:14 pm

FellowCollector wrote:Good looking dome top VTLA. It's entirely possible (and likely probable) that the knobs were removed intentionally (and the lid likely locked) by the mansion curator(s) to discourage visitors from opening them.

Doug

No they have been stolen , thieves target country houses, stealing anything they can lay there hands on

I heavily doubt anyone could steal anything from Glensheen. The entire grounds are a museum- you'd have to scale a fence and enter a locked house to get close to them, and the tours are guided. I'm fairly sure they removed the knobs to stop people from opening the doors.

AmberolaAndy wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:01 pm Nice looking VTLA or very early VXI.

Fretwork frieze would indicate a Type VTLA.

I think the XVI A also has the frieze as well.

JohnM wrote: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:48 pm

AmberolaAndy wrote: Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:01 pm Nice looking VTLA or very early VXI.

Fretwork frieze would indicate a Type VTLA.

Yes, it is a 1907-1909 model. Given that the house was completed in 1908, I suspect it is indeed a VTLA rather than the 1909 XVI with fretwork.