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While visiting the antique shops in Harrow Ont. I came across what appeared to be a VV 8-35 ... It was missing the distinctive albums , and the springs had no tension... Further examination revealed that it was of Canadian origin....and , the ID tag said it was a VV 8-36 ? Has anyone seen an 8-36 ? Any idea as to why this different model designation was used...It looks like an 8-35 in all respects...I'm confused....Oh , does anyone know of a source for those distinctive albums , I might just try to make a deal for it if I could find those albums...thanks

The 8-36 was the Canadian version of the 8-35 and it was identical except the cabinet trim was slightly different.

I'm surprised no enterprising collector hasn't commissioned someone to make nice-looking inserts for the album compartments on these machines. Couldn't the album spines be scanned and printed on photographic canvas?
B.

Here's a scan from the Canadian Victor catalogue of 1928. I presume the company thought the 8-35 was just too severe, so the lines were softened a bit for the Canadian market. The descriptive copy is a hoot and sounds like Scots poet Robbie Burns meets the Orthophonic. : " Designed by a woman to please women, but a man's Victrola for all that!"
I think either the 8-35 or the 8- 36 is very handsome indeed and I've always wanted one. I prefer the 8-35 myself, but I've never run on to one for sale " in the wild."


Jim

Is there a known reason as to why Victor slightly changed models for the Canadian market?
Was there a difference in style preference in Canada that Victor was aware of or was Canada
just in a different design trend than in the US?

I find it interesting that with some models not much changed except for the name but with some
a design could be significantly different.

The 8-36 would suit me fine! BTW, what is the procedure for getting a purchase like that through Customs, I wonder? Of course, it would be US Customs (oh, no! ) that I would be dealing with.

what is the procedure for getting a purchase like that through Customs, I wonder?

The 8-36 was built in Camden, so there should be no issues bringing it home.

Silvertone wrote:

what is the procedure for getting a purchase like that through Customs, I wonder?

The 8-36 was built in Camden, so there should be no issues bringing it home.

Aha, thank you!

In response to the question of why Canadian Victors were often different than the US version... Now this is just an educated guess , but I think it all boils down to the Customs Tariff , and the rules and regulations on importing goods into Canada.... In the days before "Free Trade" , every thing had a duty applied to it.. Gramophones , let's say , had a duty rate of 15% ... Parts used in the assembly or repair of gramophones had a duty rate of, let's say, 10% ...This would encourage companies to establish assembly factories in Canada ...So Victor would assemble their products in Montreal using some parts made in Camden , and some parts made in Montreal... The best selling models would use mostly Canadian made parts to avoid paying any duty at all ...The less popular models would be assembled as "kits" shipped up from Camden, and considered as "parts" by Customs .This might be the reason why some Canadian made models are slightly different ... The assembly facilities , and process in Montreal may have been different that that at Camden,which necessitated slight changes in the product .... The use of existing stock in the factory in Montreal may have caused some local variations..... All speculation on my part , but , having worked for Canada Customs for over 25 years , it's an educated speculation

This didn't happen only to the 8-35 model, but to most models. I just saw a Canadian model of the Credenza, which is slightly different. This even happened with cars. In the 30's to 50's Chrysler Corporation sent cars or maybe parts to Canada that were basically Plymouths, but were called Dodge Kingsways in Canada. These Canadian Plymouths even had bogus Dodge grilles and trim. In Mexico and Australia, Chrysler sent these Plymouths that were altered to look like DeSoto's, and called them DeSoto Diplomats. Same thing with radios and everything else I guess. I've wondered why they changed products for export and you may have the answer there.