The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Dear all, so some of you might recall me as the poor sap who had his colonial 101 stolen and was crying about it last week...I still am!

But in my impotent rage / frustration I did reconnect with old friends / antique traders in South Asia and tracked down a couple of machines.

I (think ) the following are a 112 and a 118 . Would be very grateful if I could be advised on whether they are original or happen to be crap-o-phone hybrids / if they seem to be missing key parts / and generally your informed opinions on them. If you lost a 101, would either of these fill the void!

Also will post separately on other colonials that I also have tracked down.

This is a Hmv 112, a 118, and a 114 in the different thread. Very nice finds, buy all of them

I wish I could help but I can't.

I also do like the colonial gramophones.

I am probably imagining things, but do I see something written / embossed in the wood under the metal plate in photo number 6. If so, I wonder what it was ?


Ending with ... LOU11A maybe ?

Quick question - in the 118 above, I dont see the black banding - could it have been scrapped off by the owner?

in photos 6 - could it be "Made in India"? just a guess. cant make it out

poodling around wrote:I am probably imagining things, but do I see something written / embossed in the wood under the metal plate in photo number 6. If so, I wonder what it was ?


Ending with ... LOU11A maybe ?

"Made in Calcutta"

They all look genuine and in good condition. The point to notice is that the motor 32 used in this machine has a spindle of different lenght than the commonly found motors of such type. I know it because I have one of these machines that came with a damaged spindle gear, and when I tried to replace the full motor the replacement one was too high and the tone arm scraped on the turntable. So please make sure that the motors are running correctly if you want to avoid such hassle.

I have some HMV Colonials (112, 113 & 118) in my collection. They are interesting, but pretty heavy given their 2 spring motors.

Thank you all. As always, very helpful. One last question from my side - I have only seen 118s with Black Bands. This one doesn't seem to have black bands but rather the bands are cut into the wood. Could it be a warning sign.

The seller wants 125$ for the machine so maybe I ought to just shut up and grab it...?

SPOONMAN19 wrote:Thank you all. As always, very helpful. One last question from my side - I have only seen 118s with Black Bands. This one doesn't seem to have black bands but rather the bands are cut into the wood. Could it be a warning sign.

The seller wants 125$ for the machine so maybe I ought to just shut up and grab it...?

I've seen it with or without black bands, but in both cases the lines were engraved. Both machines seem to have a very high restoration potential, and personally I would definitely buy at least the 118.

A question: was there a "continental" equivalent of the colonial 118 perhaps?