The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've had this b80 for a while. Looks like a good original machine, and a friend was interested in buying it. Did some research and found the grill did not appear correct and was a let down. I read in the Frowe book that there were three different variations, but were not known. Is this possibly one of the unknown variations? The picture is not good quality but shows the grill.

veneer will tell

Here's a better one.

Compared with lid veneer. Appears the same.

These aren't valuable machines, but the variation difference intrigues me if it is, but why would it be different?

I gotcha. Its a possibility someone, not the Edison factory, made the grill?

Looks original to me... Possibly a different "custom" grille made in the same time period...or possibly a cut down grille from another machine manufacturer.

)

Tony K.

Here's a side view.

I own two Edison B80's and have seen plenty more, but I have never seen an Edison grill anything like that. My guess is that most likely it is a homemade replacement created after the original was damaged. I enlarged the picture and the details convince me that it is homemade. All of the original grills that I have ever seen had a uniform pattern with sharp edges and corners cut to perfection. I am betting a lot of those plywood grills were made from built-up layers of die cut veneer. Most homemade grills cut with a band saw still look homemade, even if skillfully done with only slight imperfections.