Advice on my Victor Monarch?

[Whittington]

Hi everyone it's me again! I would like to pick the experts brains again as I have just acquired a nice Monarch and don't know if I should restore it, or let it keep the old patina look. It came from an attic and the person I bought it from said that his grandfather purchased it originally and that it been in the attic for several decades. I did the complete inspection before buying it and it is complete and plays great. Every piece on it is original including the leather elbow and wooden horn support arm. Here is my first question:

This came with a 30" all brass horn that is supported by an extension that is added to the original support arm as seen in the pictures. Is this hard to find? I have looked all over phonograph websites and can find only one like it. But the only one I found is a later style of Monarch. This is the first Monarch cabinet style. Was this setup even available in 1902?

Secondly, the entire machine has a great aged look to it. I tend to like the clean look better but in this case it aged perfectly giving it a genuine and even patina. The cabinet is great with minimal marks and the horn is evenly oxidized with no problems. The concert reproducer is superb and the wood and extended travel arms are good too. Should I clean it up? I am not going to keep it and am planning on selling it soon. Would collectors like it in restored condition or should I leave it how it is?

Any advice would be appreciated. I also can't find a value anywhere and am interested in whether the extended arm and large horn help this machine significantly in value or not. Thanks again!

Jeff

[estott]

That does appear to be rather nice. I'd consider treating the horn like a piece of art metal- giving it a microcrystaline wax to enhance the patina without polishing it, also giving the cabinet a good rub to remove the surface dust and filth. You can always opt to do a full shine and polish at a later time.

[gramophoneshane]

If you are intending on selling it, I think you're better off wiping it all down with a damp cloth & selling the machine as is, so the buyer can decide how they'd like to go about restoring it.
Anything more, and you may devalue the machine in the eyes of a serious collector.

[Garret]

For a fellow who is apparently newly interested in these wonderful phonographs, you've acquired two very nice machines, only to quickly sell them. What do you intend to keep?

[Starkton]

That does appear to be rather nice. I'd consider treating the horn like a piece of art metal- giving it a microcrystaline wax to enhance the patina without polishing it, also giving the cabinet a good rub to remove the surface dust and filth.

I absolutely second that statement. It is a true wonder that the Monarch kept its original patina of more than 100 years.

[brianu]

For a fellow who is apparently newly interested in these wonderful phonographs, you've acquired two very nice machines, only to quickly sell them. What do you intend to keep?

it's definitely nice to see that you've rejoined the columbia top with its bottom that you currently have on ebay... but I do have to echo garrett's comment/question (quoted above) here.

also, I'm curious, what leads you to believe that your (at least for now) monarch is of the earliest, or first cabinet style?

[JohnM]

The earliest Monarch would be the ERJ 'Monarch' with the spindle-type corner columns.

John M

[ChuckA]

John,

That's what he's showing in the picture, a Johnson M. Would be nice to know what reproducer is with it, it would be a really great machine if it has a New Century.

But, a Johnson Concert would be a nice 2nd.....


Chuck

[JohnM]

Can't see squat on my iPhone without glasses!

[Whittington]

Just got back from dinner with my wife and it seems I have some explaining to do! I have several phonographs right now that I have slowly accumulated over the last 3 or 4 months. And I will probably hold on to those for now, (except for the Columbia Model AK early style) because most of them wouldn't bring much money.

Which leads me to my second point. My wife and I are expecting and I decided to not only collect and restore phonos, but to make some money while learning this enthralling hobby. I seem to have good luck searching for these phonographs and have been fortunate to come up with some nice ones. That being said, I have no attachment to them from an intrinsic standpoint and I sell them. This does two things. One, I can make some money for the new arrival we are expecting aside from my boring 9 to 5. And two, I have convinced my wife that spending every waking minute studying everything phono related I can get my hands on is a good thing. (It's tough to convince the wives of the value and benefits of collecting these machines.)

That being said, I found the Columbia and paid $165 for is and even less for the Monarch. I am still not too sure of it's value though.

In the Talking Machine book I have, Tim Fabrizio shows the cabinet identical to mine and it says it was the first production style for the Monarch. But, several pages later it shows a later cabinet style with the extended support arm and a 30" horn. So I am not sure what that means for the one I have. The one pictured in the book is valued a "VR" which apparently means they won't put a value on it because VR stands for Very Rare in that it rarely changes hands from one owner to the other.

So I am still left wondering how rare this style is and with the components it has on it. The reproducer is a "concert", and I don't know too much about the early Victors so if anyone has anymore on this one I would love to know. Thanks again for all the help and replies. What a great place to come learn and chat with people who can guide me so I can guide the next newcomer!

Jeff