The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have just aquired my Great grandmothers Cecilian Melophonic. I know absolutelt nothing about it and am looking for information on when it was made and other details. Not sure where to find this information. It appears to be made out of walnut and has two doors on the front that open to reveal two comparments on the left for records and one on the right. In the center is I believe the sound chamber behind some latice type of wood. There is no fabric in there at this time. It is about 44" tall has the hand crank on the right. The top lid is square in shape.

I have added a picture of it. The legs and skirt are not on it in this picture.

Can anyone tell me how to find information on it?

Thanks Jerry Talbot

Hello and welcome.

Check out this recent thread. Quite a few mentions of your machine.

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... Melophonic

That's quite a nice cabinet. I'd say it was made about 1926-1930. It was sold through the Montgomery Ward catalog.

Thanks for the information. Any idea on where you can get needles and other parts for this? It needs a little work but it will be well worth it. I want to get this back as close to original as possible. I also am dying to be able to play some of the old records that came with it. Thanks again for the info.

Hi Jerry,

Welcome to the board and congrats on your first (of many more to come I'm sure) machine. Needles can be purchased from Wyatts Musical Americana http://www.wyattsmusical.com/ or The Antique Phonograph Supply company http://www.antiquephono.com/, as well as others. This thread has lots of links to various sources of parts: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ?f=8&t=195.

I would recommend you obtain a copy of "The Compleat Talking Machine". It is a very good source of repair and restoral info for the beginner through advanced collector.

One thing to keep in mind: One needle, 1 or 2 plays. Using a needle for more than 2 plans can prematurely wear your records.

Don't hesitate to ask questions and jump in to the discussions. It is a fun hobby and there is a good group here.

Brad

Brad,

Thanks for the information. I just ordered the book. Sounds like it is pretty detailed. I am so excited about starting to work on it. I was told the needles did not last long but no one said use once or twice. Good information to have.

Thanks again,
Jerry

Could you post some photos that show the doors open, and that show the legs? I'd like to get a better idea of what it looks like.

It's great that this is a family piece! I would love to have my grandparents old phonographs, but my maternal grandparents gave theirs to the children to play with, and it got ruined. My paternal grandparents' phono has vanished without a clue or a memory to what happened to it.

I will post some more pictures in a couple days. I quickly took a picture to try and find out information on it. I am so happy that this has stayed in the family for so many years and I am sure it will be around another 80+ years if I have anything to do with it.

I ran across one of these in a shop recently. The cabinet was in good condition, similar to the one in the picture. The turntable was not mounted correctly and the pickup head was broken. Any idea what these are worth in good condition?

how much is the Cecilian worth with the speaker cover missing