The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi Forum

I am a new member. I have joined the forum because I am in possession of a talking machine I would like to know more about. It has been in the family since the late 1980s and I am hoping someone out there may know some history of the make and model.

The gramophone has a gold coloured "Regal made in Australia" waterslide decal on the front of the wooden cabinet. The soundbox has a mica diaphragm through which the words REGAL GRAND are visible. The soundbox is friction fit into a goose neck tone arm. The tone arm geometry may not be brilliant as the the needle falls about three quarters of an inch short of the spindle. Does anyone know if this will ruin the records?

The ten inch turn table is stamped Thorens on the underside. The motor board is hinged at the back and lifts to reveal a single spring Thorens Swiss Made motor stamped with the anchor mark.

So far I have read that Regal was an English record label founded in 1914 which became a division of Columbia. After the merger with HMV the label became Regal Zonophone. I am guessing therefore that the machine dates from the first half of the 1920s. I am wondering if Regal might a sort of budget badge engineered Columbia in the way that Zonophone machines were based on HMVs. Another thought is that Columbias might have been marketed as Regals in the Australian market.

As far as I can tell Thorens made motors for anyone who wanted to put them in a gramophone - a sort of Swiss Garrard? Does anyone know if Thorens ever supplied Columbia with motors for their Graphonolas?

Any information anyone has on Regal machines rather than records especially Regal in Australia would be really welcome. What I really want to be sure of is that this is NOT a crap-o-phone or phoney-graph. If this is an honest machine I will probably look at doing some light restoration and maybe try rebuilding the sound box.

Thanks
G

a photo would help.....

From the description of this 1992 auction your gramophone could be right , although the soundbox doesn't sound right:
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/ ... e6efd9aaab
As has ben said a photo speaks a thousand words!

Steve

Put up pictures...

Hello

Thank you for the responses. I did mean to post pictures to illustrate the points above and now here they are.

Kind regards
G

I'd say that was an honest machine worthy of some work.
Almost certainly constructed from European components it may have been assembled in Australia to get round import taxes.

Steve

Nice machine... I think there was another similar European machine discussed recently based on the backbracket, horn and elbow...

Is it typical that the needle will not touch or get close to the spindle with machines like this? Is it possible that the back bracket or tone arm have been replaced? Jerry

The arm looks like a modified Victrola off of a VV IV or a VV VI. The little screw in the crook is a dead give-away.
Harvey Kravitz

Phonofreak wrote:The arm looks like a modified Victrola off of a VV IV or a VV VI. The little screw in the crook is a dead give-away.
Harvey Kravitz

I think you are right. I don't know what the legal position was in Australia, but no UK Regal or Columbia machine of this period would have had a gooseneck tonearm as it would have infringed the Victor/HMV patents.

The horn looks to be of German/Swiss origin and is known as the Peacock Feather pattern.