The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi everyone and Happy New Year!

Found this little gem that apparently has been 'reconditioned' and works perfectly but have no idea what its value is.

I've included below links to the only pictures I have to go by:

http://images8.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

and

http://images1.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

From the images the reproducer is either Victor or HMV but my knowledge stops there.

Any ideas on make/model and value? (or is it a frankenphone...?)

Thanks!

To me the horn looks a little phony, most frankenphones from the middle east are made of brass, also the crank is a older style victrola type however nothing else on the machine looks to be victrola made

its definately a frankenphone!!, the reproducer is a hmv 5B, which is good as long as the pot metal hasnt expanded!

A-ha...thought so...

However - and without making another topic - I'm also wondering about Melodion gramophones (if they were ever made under that company).

There's an outside-horn gramophone listed for 800 euros that's been recorded on Youtube for proof of functionality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnKYdtgHOXo

The high price is justified by the seller as having belonged to the 1st queen of Romania, Elizabeth.

http://images9.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

This metal plaque is supposed to verify that the gramophone was made for Carmen Sylva, a pseudonim that Queen Elisabeth of Romania used during her literary career.

Is the price/value justified and more importantly, does the plaque indeed confirm or certify that the gramophone was made for Carmen Sylva? Did Melodion also manufacture gramophones?

More pictures:
http://images7.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

http://images5.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

http://images2.okr.ro/serve/auctions.v7 ... 00_700.jpg

Thanks again!

For new members who may not know what a Frankenphone is. The machine in your linked photos is a fake. It is a new machine made in India (probably) designed to look like an antique machine, using cheap parts from a portable wind-up phono, and new parts fabricated to resemble (in appearance only) vintage parts. It looks like the tracking error of the sound-box on the tone arm would cause massive record wear.

The first machine is not a Frankenphone, its a Crapophone, meaning that though it may have a motor taken out of a cheap portable gramophone, and uses a spare tone arm, the horn and cabinet are new.

The second machine with the blue horn is a Parlophone. 800 euro is a bit inflated by the shaky provenance - If you are a queen and live in a palace etc, are you going to buy your furniture from Ikea? By which I mean that the palace would have had top of the range machines, not a simple Parlophone with single spring motor. More like a top quality Senior Monarch or Victor 6 etc

BTW Elizabeth of Romania that you mention was pre 1914. Machine's vintage is about 1912-1914

"Carmen Sylva" translates as Forest Song / Song of the Forest. In this case it's probably just a model name or a motto used by Melodean- which was probably the seller. It's a nice genuine and attractive machine that was fairly cheap when new.


BTW- tell the seller that I have a 19th C. mantle clock marked GADSKI. It's part of a series the E. N. Welch co. named after opera singers- Johanna Gadski never owned it.