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I picked this up the other day. I've done only a cursory search on the internet. I see that I have an Exhibition sound box with a round needle hole and a lever to set the needle. I found that this lever design was developed by someone named Gibson (?), but I have not pursued that, at least not yet. What I found most interesting was the back of the sound box. It differs from the other Exhibition sound boxes that I have as it seems to insert inside the tone arm rather than go around it. Anyway, I thought people on the Forum might like to see it. I wonder if it was made for a specific Victor machine. In my brief internet search, I think it may have gone on a Victor Z, but the photo was not clear. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I've included in the pics the other type of Exhibition sound box that I have.

You can also try searching for Gibson on this forum and will find many post pertaining to him and the items he invented. Some of which were bought and used by Victor....like the spring lever needle chuck on your newly found Exhibition.

The Exhibition on the left (with the lever) Looks like it was modified to fit a long throat(front mount) reproducer. Sometime in its history the tube was cut for something else. I would get a new rubber flange and have this reproducer for it's intended purpose, a rear mount.
Harvey Kravitz

Ah the value of primary source documents (or at least reprinted ones for sure)!

In the 1907 catalog of Repair Parts for Victor Talking Machines we find the specific flange that is on the Exhibition reproducer on the left side of the first picture in this listing. I've attached both pages from this catalog listing parts for the Exhibition reproducer. Part E21 is the part in question, and it is listed as "Adaptor for use on Victor Jr."

Shawn

Might want to leave that flange alone

Please don't change it. You should leave the one on the left as it is. This is a very unusual find and is probably worth more as is than it would be if you change it. There are very likely people on this forum who would make you a good offer for it.

Thanks Shawn for your post. I was not aware that such a part was available. I would have argued that any Junior with an Exhibition was incorrect and I would have been incorrect.

Thanks, Jerry Blais

Thanks everyone. And the fact of the matter is, I found it on a Victor Jr that I bought. So, not an Exhibition Jr, soundbox, which I had understood was what was supposed to be on a Victor Jr, but this particular soundbox with the lever. Makes me feel better that I bought the machine. My machine has a black horn, not red, as Reiss shows to in his book, but my horn is original. By the way, I'm pretty certain that the crank on the machine illustrated in Reiss is wrong. It's too long, and would be better suited for a Type E or a Vic I. Mine is short and stubby and just clears the lid molding.

I asked HMV to transfer this thread to Machines as I had mistakenly put it here--go figure. Not sure what to do. Really don't want it here. Again thanks for the help. These reproducers and their attachments are beginning to interest me as much as the machines themselves.

John

In the catalog that Shawn has shown, there is a one piece flange for a long throat. This flange was machined in one piece. The flange in question looks like the original rubber flange was modified. If it were mine, I would change the flange, but keep the original one. It it turns out that this is original and correct, you can put it back the way it was. Maybe this is a prototype of some sort.
Harvey Kravitz

Not sure I follow you, Harvey. But what I have is part E21 in the 1907 catalog. It is not an original long throat that has been refitted nor slotted to fit inside the Victor Jr horn. There is no rubber flange on the back of this Exhibition (the one on the left in the pictures), just this metal flange. It can easily be removed and placed on the back of another Exhibition, for example, the one on the right. I did this because the new Exhibition has not be refurbished and I wanted to hear how my machine sounded. Now, if I want to put a rubber flange on the back of my new Exhibition soundbox, that is easily done. The rubber flange and Victor Jr. flange (E21) are interchangeable. The screw holes and threads are the same and in the same positions.