The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

HEllo all,
I was perusing eBay last night and this was listed right when I got online. It is a Melodia but it looks somewhat home made?
HAs anyone seen one like it or know what the original looked like. I feel like something is missing.
I asked for motor pics but nothing yet. If the spring is ok then I think it is a good price.

Link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-MELODI ... 2749.l2649


Thank you,
Kirk

I was going to call "foul" on this one mistakenly believing it was purportedly made by the same Eastern European "Melodia" company I am familiar with, and the 'giveaway' was that the "Melodia" mark should be written in Cyrillic... but I see it's a Chicago machine so all bets are off.

I see it's ended- did you get it?

Yes I bought it but the seller agreed to send a pic or 2 of the motor.
She wrote back tonight and said she could not get the cover off the motor. She said the screws were weak and were stripping so I said to leave it.
It will be a nice refinish project. Lets hope the spring is ok...

Kirk

Looks nice - an early generation portable much like the Outing, which weighs a TON

Wow,
It is super heavy!
I was surprised when I got the box off the porch. I bought it as non working but I took it apart and it was just dried grease that was stopping it. The cabinet came out pretty nice with some cleanup but I wonder if I should refinish it??? The finish is 50% missing and flaking but it looks ok now.
It even has a record storage compartment?

Original or restore? What do you guys think?

Kirk

That's gorgeous! Leave it alone, don't refinish it. Looks like walnut! Makes me wish I had gone after it!

52089 wrote:That's gorgeous! Leave it alone, don't refinish it. Looks like walnut! Makes me wish I had gone after it!

I'm going to make it a tie and say it's very worthy of a complete restore as long as it's faithful to the original as I am sure you will do. It's a surprisingly handsome machine; restored to new it'll be a stunning museum quality showpiece.

If you do decide to refinish it as part of a restoration, be sure to take a clear closeup photo of the decal. That way if it gets accidentally screwed up you can have Gregg Cline make a replacement decal for you.

I bought a similar portable called an Outing which needed a complete restoration. Once I got it done, it became one of my favorite machines... all wood, like yours and beautiful.

You ask whether to restore or leave it alone. "Restore" means to put it back in some previous, earlier condition. What earlier condition are you trying to restore it to? Are you trying to make it look new? That's impossible. Or are you trying to make it appear used but well maintained? The latter you already have. So perhaps preservation or conservation are better words to describe what to do with this machine. If that's the original surface, leave it alone and appreciate the wear and tear that humanity had inflicted on this machine while it gave pleasure to them. Your its curator for the next generation.

I would advocate restoring the original finish, rather than refinishing. You can do a lot with a little shellac and some wax.

Bill