The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Thanks Bill for posting. Comparing it to mine summarized below are some differences:

Serial no. - strangely my bed plate and data tag do not match, (although I know they most always should on an A model). 2503 & 2373-A1. I have no reason to think it did not come that way. I found it in the wild. I also note as you do that the higher end A series usually had matching serial no. with model designation on the bed plate, for example 2503 on data plate and 2508 A-375 on bedplate.

Volume control - Yours has the style that would have been installed on many of the A-250s. Mine does not have vc and no indication it ever did. I believe Pathelogical has one with yet another, earlier type volume control, as would have typically come on an A-275 (with knob on deck linked to bent steel rod).

Serial no. - Mine is 2503. Yours is quite a bit later, 5084, the highest number of the few I have recorded.

Date on paper tag - Mine is dated 11-20-12 and yours appears to say 4-1-16. That's quite late and might indicate that although the cabinet is certainly from an Amberola, it was assembled quite late, after the fire. Question: Is this tag inside the back door or behind the grill? Normally the earlier ones were on the back door, later just behind the grill on the left.

Brake/stop mechanism. - Yours is of a later type found on the late A-250 and B-250s.

Drawers - Mine has ~70+ individual wooden slots while yours has 5 sections in each drawer, presumably holding 10 records per drawer. Question: Can you put a 10 inch record in your bottom drawer? I can but the record partially falls through and the drawer cannot be closed. It will only fit 12 inch records.

Additional question: There should be a number stamped on the neck of the horn. It may be painted over and hard to see. It usually is relatively close to the number on the data plate although I've never seen one match. I'd be interested to see what number is stamped on yours.

Perhaps trivial details to some but very interesting to compare, at least for me.

Marvelous selection of pictures. And the machine is sublime. I have always been fond of Middleton. Frances Alda talks about him in her autobiography and takes some of the credit for his engagement at the Metropolitan Opera. Of course it helped that she was the wife of the general manager. One of the reasons he was let go from the Met was his weight, but this seems perhaps to me to be perhaps a good story but lacking credibility. He appeared often here in Toronto, performing a regular soloist with the Toronto Symphony. Canadian violinist Harry Adaskin ...who was with the TSO in the 20's....writes glowingly of Middleton's voice. And I agree!!

Jim

Valecnik wrote:Thanks Bill for posting. Comparing it to mine summarized below are some differences:

Serial no. - strangely my bed plate and data tag do not match, (although I know they most always should on an A model). 2503 & 2373-A1. I have no reason to think it did not come that way. I found it in the wild. I also note as you do that the higher end A series usually had matching serial no. with model designation on the bed plate, for example 2503 on data plate and 2508 A-375 on bedplate.

Volume control - Yours has the style that would have been installed on many of the A-250s. Mine does not have vc and no indication it ever did. I believe Pathelogical has one with yet another, earlier type volume control, as would have typically come on an A-275 (with knob on deck linked to bent steel rod).

Serial no. - Mine is 2503. Yours is quite a bit later, 5084, the highest number of the few I have recorded.

Date on paper tag - Mine is dated 11-20-12 and yours appears to say 4-1-16. That's quite late and might indicate that although the cabinet is certainly from an Amberola, it was assembled quite late, after the fire. Question: Is this tag inside the back door or behind the grill? Normally the earlier ones were on the back door, later just behind the grill on the left.

Brake/stop mechanism. - Yours is of a later type found on the late A-250 and B-250s.

Drawers - Mine has ~70+ individual wooden slots while yours has 5 sections in each drawer, presumably holding 10 records per drawer. Question: Can you put a 10 inch record in your bottom drawer? I can but the record partially falls through and the drawer cannot be closed. It will only fit 12 inch records.

Additional question: There should be a number stamped on the neck of the horn. It may be painted over and hard to see. It usually is relatively close to the number on the data plate although I've never seen one match. I'd be interested to see what number is stamped on yours.

Perhaps trivial details to some but very interesting to compare, at least for me.

Bruce,: In answer to your questions, I can put a 10" record in the bottom without falling out. The paper info tag is pasted inside the cabinet behind the grill on the left. As to the number on the horn, I cannot see it without taking the horn elbow out. If I ever remove the horn elbow, I will look for it and let you know.

Bill