VanEpsFan1914 wrote:
Now that tiny portable is the closest Victor I have ever seen to a cameraphone! Thanks for posting it.
I could very well be wrong, but I have my doubts it was made by JVC.
The trademark decal under the lid looks completely different to any of the other Japanese Victor's, although if the picture was able to be enlarged clearly it might tell a different story.
Had they referred to it as a Victrola, then it could have been someone using it as a generic term for gramophone/phonograph as some people do in USA, but as the accompanying text calls it a Victor portable, I suppose I can't blame the terminology or translation.
Does anyone recognise the soundbox or similarities to Victor or RCA counterparts?
Maybe one-day a Japanese collector will follow in the footsteps of people like George Paul and Christopher Proudfoot, and publish a book on Japanese models from the various active companies there who made accoustic machines.
Let's hope!
The thing I find most interesting is that so many machines appear to be pretty much the same, like the 1-90 in the post above.
The main thing that seems to change are the number of pillars in the grille design on many, although the same grilles are repeated on various models too.
In reality the difference between those that appear the same is probably things like the number of springs, size of the turntable and perhaps the size of the cabinets, but unfortunately those things aren't easy to judge from the photos.
Most of the table models appear to have an orthophonic style soundbox, although a couple look similar to the No.4, but the ts difficult to be sure with many photos.
It certainly shows that a wider range of portable and table models were available in Japan, and a variety of uprights and console styles like Victor and HMV made, had no place in the homes and decor of most Japanese people.
That certainly seems to be true judging by the large number of portable and table models shown in this, and the Japanese Columbia thread, and the shier lack of uprights by comparison to ours. There does appear to be some Credenza type machines, but not being a Victor guy I don't know if some are imports from America, or if any Japanese models varied in size similar to HMVs 163, 193/4 & 202/3.
JVC must have relied heavily on technical diffences between its models to make sales with so many outwardly appearing the same.
I think Victor and HMV were more about using aesthetics for sales, with both companies often using the same internal components in a variety of cabinets, and the difference you paid was purely cosmetic with no practical advantage.
