The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just obtained a cute but strange, small portable. The case is smaller than a 10" record, seems to be well made for a portable, has an aluminum reproducer, speed control and brake are on the front, the horn is made of cast iron and opens a compartment for the reproducer and tonearm, along with motor access. I have never seen a machine exactly like this... what is it?

Wow, that's fairly compact! Its rather interesting how the tone arm stows under the little door like that. Obviously going to need a second case for the records!

Where does the turntable store?
It's neat to find something like that in complete condition.
Just a guess- Might it be a European machine?

The turntable lifts off and apparently just stores loose inside the lid... I haven't discovered any other way that it fits in with the lid closed, but it seems odd that it doesn't fasten to something to keep it from rolling around. There is a second offset hole in the turntable that looks like it was designed to allow the turntable to be held in place by the spindle, but it is in the wrong place and won't fit with the lid closed.

howardpgh wrote:Where does the turntable store?
It's neat to find something like that in complete condition.
Just a guess- Might it be a European machine?

It could very well be European, but that semi-circular horn mouth has got me baffled. I have never seen anything similar.

These miniature machines were popular for taking on picnics (hence the incorrect term "Picnic Gramophone" used by some UK eBay sellers to describe portables) in an era when most people did not own cars. They walked, cycled or used public transport and needed a light weight to carry in addition to the picnic basket, but no matter how light the machine the records would still have been heavy.

That's all I have time for this morning as I am off to a preservation event in my 1947 Morris Eight, with a portable and a few dance band records to accompany the picnic lunch .