The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Curt A wrote:After looking at the original elbow type, it occurred to me that you might be able to obtain a repro Victor elbow and modify it with the addition of a tube that would fit your back bracket... it would be a better choice than an angular crapo-phone elbow.

I think that would look better. Maybe it will work until I can find the right one.

Steve wrote:Very nice! A genuine European machine that we often over here refer to as a "Swissie". This does not necessarily imply that it's Swiss origin as it might just as easily be German! It does have a very nice back-bracket and the case and metalwork should clean up well.

So would this machine also count as a "Swissie"? I bought it on eBay from a seller who claimed it had come to the "New World" with a Spanish diplomat who left it behind when he returned to Europe. In support of that proposition, it bears a dealer's plate from Toledo (Spain, not Ohio!). It has an "Imperator" reproducer (Swiss made; I gather the company started off in music boxes) and--cue the ominous music, please!--a Thorens "post and plate" motor. Since then, I've worried that perhaps I suckered in on some variant of crapophone, but, honestly, the hardware seems much too nice for that. It's actually pretty, and it sounds quite decent. I did have the original, single-spring motor swapped out with a very similar two-spring model, as the former lacked power to play a 12" side on a winding.

I think drh's machine may be a Paillard, similar to the model pictured below.

The Paillard and Thorens families were connected by marriage, Ernest Paillard and Eugene Thorens being brothers-in-law, and there are many similarities between their products.

phonogal wrote:Well, I bought the machine and will pick it up on Tuesday. Just couldn't let it be trashed. I will be looking for the missing reproducer, turntable, elbow and horn. I haven't been able to find another example of a Radium on the internet. Can anyone point me in the right direction so I'll know what I'm looking for? I have a Parlophone so I assume they must be simular. Thanks for any assistance, Jan

Hi Jan, there probably isn't that much significance in the name 'Radium'. This maybe a retailers plate. I have a 'Pathé' machine with the name 'Radiant' on the front put there by the retailer or even wholesaler or importer but actually nothing to do with Pathé.

Here in Britain local cabinet-makers would often make the cabinets, buy in the parts from Switzerland and Germany, and assemble the machines themselves. Sometimes they put a name on the front. These names add character but are often impossible to track down.

epigramophone wrote:I think drh's machine may be a Paillard, similar to the model pictured below.

The Paillard and Thorens families were connected by marriage, Ernest Paillard and Eugene Thorens being brothers-in-law, and there are many similarities between their products.

They do look similar. Thank you!