What the...?! on ebay (top mounted governor)

[Schlick]

I AM a newbie... but I have never seen a top mounted governor (except on an M?).

What is this? Some kind of dictaphone?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ANTIQUE-EDISON-M ... 5b0d83d4e6

[barnettrp21122]

This is exactly what the seller claims: works to an Amberola 30 machine.
The governor was normally out-of-sight under a cover.
Bob

[Schlick]

This is exactly what the seller claims: works to an Amberola 30 machine.
The governor was normally out-of-sight under a cover.
Bob

TOLD you I was a newbie! (I didn't even recognize "30" meant Amberola . ) - Thanks, Bob!

[phonogfp]

The Amberola 50 and 75 look identical to this as well. The Amberola V and III, plus the Opera/Concert all had governors above the bedplate.

...And of course, the Class M...

George P.

[TinfoilPhono]

Governors above the bedplate aren't unusual but they are normally covered and consequently hidden.

There's one particularly interesting French phonograph that has a vertically-mounted governor above the bedplate, like the Class M. It's called the Omega. A lot like a Columbia Eagle except for the interesting governor design.

[clevelander]

Rene,
That's an interesting machine that I have never seen before.
Do you have any other information regarding the manufacturer?.

[TinfoilPhono]

It was made by (or for) Girard, a dealer in Paris who was a pioneer in selling on credit, in an age where people were accustomed to paying cash in full. This was marketed in 1899 as their first entry into phonographs. They later sold a series of machines manufactured for them by Pathé, and sold by Girard as "Menestrel".