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Is this for real? I've seen a mahogany Vic 5 at SanFillipo's but never a Vic 3. Seems like I remember this on ebay a few years ago for, like, 15k. Or maybe I'm just dreaming..


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26otn%3D2

I believe you're thinking about the Mahogany Victor MS that has been on sale for $15k as long as I can remember:

http://www.intertique.com/MahoganyMS.html



As for Victor III, I've wondered about that myself for some time (I think this is the second time it's been up on the block). The MS is purported actually Mahogany. The III is oak stained mahogany, which is find odd. Originally I thought it was just the shellac that had darkened, but if you look inside the case it's red as well (which I find strange as well...why would they stain the inside?). I really don't know what to think of it. I seems pretty odd. Why would someone order a custom III? Wouldn't it just make sense to move up to a IV? At least the excuse with a supposed custom MS, there were no mahogany machines...

???

It sure would be unique if that Vic III were mahogany but it's oak, though with a mahogany horn. You can see the oak grain pattern under the dark finish. I find it hard to believe that Victor would have made and sold an oak machine with a mahogany toned finish. Has anyone ever seen a mahogany Vic III?

I noticed this machine as well, but it's definitely oak... as the person above noted, the horn's mahogany, but the cabinet case is oak... the finish, rather whatever's on top of the finish (likely a buildup of wax and dirt, if not possibly some amateurish attempt to apply a top stain to better match the horn) is just darker than typical.

At at recent Union there was a Vic III that appeared to have the same finish as the current ebay Vic III. The Union seller claimed that his machine was mahogany but I'm sure it was oak with an applied mahogany coloring. I think the real question should be when the coloring was applied. I wish I had looked on the inside of the cabinet for the one at Union. It's pure speculation on my part but I doubt it the finish was applied by Victor. I think it's more likely that a local dealer when to great lengths to please a customer. Perhaps the customer's interior decor changed. Maybe the purchase was made at a small Victor dealer and he didn't have a IV in stock and the buyer was in a hurry. I don't doubt that the mahogany coloring was applied a long time ago but I do doubt it was done by Victor. I have seen a couple of mahogany Vic MS machines as well as several mahogany Vic V machines in a couple of cabinet styles. Jerry Blais

I've seen that mahogany Vic MS at Union for several years. I can't imagine having such a spectacular machine and leaving it incomplete. I'm always amazed at the number of high end quality machines that are incomplete or dirty or in some other way not ready to sell. I know that some collectors prefer to do their own work but the pictured MS should be priced as a project machine. Jerry

I noticed that portions of the motor look pink or red. At first I though it was due to reflective light that the camera lens is picking up, but then I noticed some variations in the shading, as well as a few darker red spots --
Could some type of dye have been sprayed onto the cabinet -- inside and out?

Ortho_Fan wrote: Could some type of dye have been sprayed onto the cabinet -- inside and out?

I bet you are right. The latch would not have any color on it from the factory let along other parts of the motor. I think at some time an owner wanted to mate a mahogany horn to an oak machine and decided the machine needed to take on a mahogany appearance.

Steve

Maybe it was more affordable to buy just a mahogany horn and custom stain a vic III. Possibly the dealer was in an area where the vic III was at the higher end of the spectrum and a vic IV just plain out of reach? I am sure people modified their own machines too. I recall seeing a hacked up edison standard or home on ebay that had been converted into a crude internal horn machine. It seemed like a genuine period alteration considering now a days you would likely find the opposite-a horn on amberola mechanisms.

Great eye Ortho.....the color was probably added after the machine left the factory. But all things considered.....still a good price.I wouldn't mind adding to my collection.....