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This is not mine but it sure is purty!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-c-1926- ... 1448985472?

Yes it is! I own one and have always wanted to compare a Victrola Credenza, a Columbia Viva Tonal 800, and a Brunswick Cortez side by side. After the APS show, I will be able to do that as my Credenza will be delivered there. Then I will have all three Orthophonic era machines that competed with each other.

All of the trim pieces and tone arm etc, appear in gold the crank and crank escutcheon appear to be another color-is that normal?

Very fine, I wonder if the price is right.

All of the trim pieces and tone arm etc, appear in gold the crank and crank escutcheon appear to be another color-is that normal?

Yes, I think that's normal. Mine doesn't have a crank, but the crank could have lost its bright gold finish being outside the machine for 90 years, or it could have been bronze to begin with. But you have to admit, that machine's cabinet is in glorious condition! I know the Columbia Viva Tonal 800 machines have gold finish on the interior and gun metal finish on the cranks and escutcheons.

My Cortez and the few others I have seen has an oxidized crank and escutcheon, so I believe they were all like this. Nice machines, for sure, I'm really enjoying mine. I think the asking price is a little optimistic, though, but I guess we'll see.

Sean

I heard of a private sale recently of a guy that sold his Cortez for $3500! The seller got it from an estate sale of a collector in Phoenix, AZ. I know that is an outlier of a price, but sometimes you get sales like that. Or maybe that's a California price.

Years ago I had the Electrola Brunswick made using the Cortez. I think it was the first Brunswick electronic phonograph. Really puny amplifier and a tiny driver connected to the horn.

I don't believe that the P-14, the electrified Cortez, was the earliest Panatrope. The Cortez was not even introduced to the market until well in to 1926, but Aeolian was advertising both the P-3 and the P-2 for the Christmas season of 1925. These designations appear to have referred to the electronic equipment, for each was found in several different cabinets. The P-3 of this vintage that I found used the RCA 104 loudspeaker equipment, and the P-2 machines appear to have used a variation on the RCA 102 equipment. The P-3 was offerred in the Stratford, Hampton, Tudor and at least one other cabinet that I cannot immediately recall. The P-2 was pictured in the cabinet of that 1924 combination which had been offerred with the Radiola III-A.

See my post on p. 1 of this thread (http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... +panatrope) for more on the early Panatrope. This is one of the earliest ads for the Panatrope (Nov. 1926 National Geographic). Note the last paragraph; the company hadn't even named the model yet, and was running a contest to find one.

Here's a blow-up of the relevant jpeg: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/downlo ... &mode=view