Oak vs. Mahogany

[edisonplayer]

I remember Jerry Donnell had a Victrola VI in mahogany.I think it'd be less common to find a VI in mahogany.Usually they're found in oak.It's the opposite with the more expensive Victrolas,such as the XVI.edisonplayer

[FloridaClay]

My VV-VI-A is mahogany.

Clay

[BwanaJoe]

Does anyone have pictures of the golden oak vs fumed oak? Or red mahogany vs brown mahogany?

[gramophone78]

If you pick up a newer copy of "Look For The Dog", there is a great section that shows excellent color examples of all the wood types and finishes. This book is readily available. It is also a must for a new or longtime collector.

Brown Mahogany is also known as English Brown.

[BwanaJoe]

If you pick up a newer copy of "Look For The Dog", there is a great section that shows excellent color examples of all the wood types and finishes. This book is readily available. It is also a must for a new or longtime collector.

Brown Mahogany is also known as English Brown.

Cool, thanks. I assume they are the same on the Edison machines?

[phonogfp]

If you pick up a newer copy of "Look For The Dog", there is a great section that shows excellent color examples of all the wood types and finishes. This book is readily available. It is also a must for a new or longtime collector.

Brown Mahogany is also known as English Brown.

Cool, thanks. I assume they are the same on the Edison machines?

No. Victor offered more types and colors of finishes than did Edison. Quite often, Edison offered only Mahogany, Golden Oak and Fumed Oak as cabinet choices for a particular model (sometimes only one or two choices). Victor sometimes offered Mahogany in a choice of sheen, and a half-dozen oak finishes for particular models. Both companies offered Circassian Walnut until WWI curtailed supplies, and Victor offered a Vernis-Martin finish which Edison never made commercially available. Other interesting cabinet finishes were available through Victor; all shown in Baumbach's excellent book.

Victor also maintained its own cabinet factory (after 1907 I think) whereas Edison had its DD cabinets manufactured by numerous independent cabinet factories. Edison cabinets were made to specifications of course, but I wonder if there were slight variations of color between otherwise identical cabinets from different manufacturers. Unless a particular brand and color of stain & finish were mandated, I would expect slight variations. Of course, the passing of a century has given us those variations anyway!

George P.

[Jerry B.]

I agree... "Look for the Dog" should be in everyone's phono library. It's a great reference to help identify the wood types and individual finishes. With that said, todays collectors determine values of individual machines confirmed by selling prices. For example, check the value of a mahogany Victor V compared to an oak Victor V with all other details the same. Next, check the current value of a oak Edison Triumph compared to a mahogany Triumph. Finally, check the value of a Circassian VTLA in comparison to a mahogany VTLA. It's fine to have a personal preference but most collectors have a desire to build a collection with the more unusual features. That's why we like repeaters, special decorations, etc.
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I've mentioned this before but I find it very interesting that there is no difference in value between an VE-XVI (Victor electric XVI) and a spring driven VV-XVI. In the case of Credenza, it's my opinion that collectors generally prefer the more common spring driven example. The extreme opposite is true between a spring driven Triumph and an electric Alva. The Edison company chose the give the electric model a separate and distinct name, the "Alva" while Victor did not make that distinction between electric and spring driven machines. If there is Forum member that thinks I'm wrong and they own an Alva, I'll trade you two Triumphs, ok, make it four Triumphs. not enough?, ok six Triumphs for your Alva. I really don't know how much an Alva is worth but I'd estimate between $6,000 to $10,000 depending on horn options. While Triumphs prices have sagged in recent years the more unusual machines , like an Alva, have had less fluctuation in prices. Jerry Blais

[BwanaJoe]

Interesting. Oak I'm guessing is more valued now. So, does anyone have a fumed oak and a golden oak? I'm still curious as to the difference in color on a machine.

As to the walnut availabilit,y there is a catalog on Fleabay that is listed as a 1922 catalog and has that walnut listed as an option. Wrong catalog date?

[phonogfp]

Here's a thread that shows what Fumed Oak looked like. This should land you on page 3 of the thread. Just scroll down until you see the Victrola crate with its matching Victrola XI:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... k&start=20

As shown in the thread above, Fumed Oak looks like this:

Fumed Oak1.jpg (100.06 KiB) Viewed 1670 times

Golden Oak looks like this:

During WWI, Victor and some other phonograph companies began offering Walnut cabinets (sometimes referring to it as American Walnut to distinguish it from the Circassian). 1922 isn't necessarily a wrong date for the catalog based simply on "walnut," but you didn't mention a company name so I can't offer any further specifics. Including the link to the eBay item would be helpful if you have questions about it.

George P.

[BwanaJoe]

Thanks George.

Thanks for the help. I thought the fumed oak would be darker from the online descriptions.

Here is the link to the catalog: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1922-EDISON-ORI ... 2a48649846. My machine is a 21 but this is as close as I'd probably get.

This is a shot of mine before cleaning and oiling. Looks golden to me.