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parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:13 am
by leoburdorf
Hello,
I bought I gramophone, Mark is Parlophone, Soundbox Sonata. The macine runs fine. I cannot find more information (year of production etc). Is there somebody with more information on this machine.
greetings
Leo Burdorf
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:25 am
by estott
Early 20th C, maybe even early 1920's. The mark Parlophone would seem to indicate that this machine was sold in an English speaking market.
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:35 am
by kirtley2012
im contemplating the originality of that horn though...
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:41 am
by estott
kirtley2012 wrote:im contemplating the originality of that horn though...
Not impossible, but it could be a better than usual Made in India horn. I think the machine looks basically authentic and good.
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:45 am
by kirtley2012
estott wrote:kirtley2012 wrote:im contemplating the originality of that horn though...
Not impossible, but it could be a better than usual Made in India horn. I think the machine looks basically authentic and good.
its just that on the second photo, it looks like there solder surrounding the join, typical of indian crapophones
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 1:15 pm
by alang
As far as I know, Parlophone was a German brand by the Lindstroem company. It looks pretty good to me. The horn may have been repaired at some point, but I still think it is original. You may also want to check on the German forum
http://grammophon-platten.de/news.php using google translate.
Congratulations to a nice machine
Andreas
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 4:50 pm
by Steve
I also think the horn is a reproduction.
The soundbox should be a parlophone. I'd also question the elbow as Parlophone machines have quite distinctive tapering elbows.
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:07 pm
by phonogal
I have a machine that has a parlophone tag on it. I know it has the wrong reproducer on it as someone has made this one up to fit. The round medallion with the parlophone logo on it is very hard to read and until I saw the decal on the machine above, I hadn't a clue as to what it said. Please ignore the dust

Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 2:33 am
by Steve
Leo
Your machine sadly isn't a Parlophone. It's what we sometimes refer to as a Frankenphone. The back-bracket could be from a Parlophone, the elbow is a reproduction as is the brass horn. However, looking closely at the cabinet again I notice the brake and speed oontrols look like they have been pulled from a portable machine - therefore the turntable and motor too. It is also very oddly proportioned - Parlophone did "Grand" better than anyone else but they had the motors parts to go with their huge cabinets. This cabinet is trying to be grand but it's actually very small I see! Parlophone DID make small machines but they are much better designed and proportioned than that cabinet, they were not pretentious.
The decal is obviously a fake too. The alarms bell are ringing I'm afraid. Can you post pictures of the motor to confirm? The finish on that cabinet is quite poor and has been done recently. My first thought was that it had been refinished but I now wonder whether the whole assemblage is actually 'new'. Sorry, no, I don't wonder, I know it's all a fake reproduction.
Re: parlophone gramophone
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 3:04 am
by Edisone
I'm amazed that anyone here would think this is genuine; the first picture hadn't even finished downloading when I knew it was 100% Crap-o-phony. Leo should get his money refunded.