The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Found this on Craigslist, looks painted or left the stain on too long? The stain used not even close to under top color, replated wrong, etc. I love this model but hate to see this.

At least someone was enjoying the machine and it still is in one piece, but why subject an historic phonograph to such a labor-intensive value reduction?

To add insult to injury, the "Restorer" left the original decals and under-lid finish intact...now who can explain away the difference between the beautiful interior and that embalmed outside finish?

The plating is beautiful but not at all period. I suspect that the instrument repair shop & a professional furniture man got together on this one and did what the Victrola "should" have looked like. As it is, it looks more like a 2010 design.

Jon--you mentioned wanting to try a little more period clear-coat on some of your restoration jobs. This one would be a worthy candidate--great phonograph when you get done. Honestly, period finishes are SO easy, and I think they are better suited to last 100 years more nowadays than they did back then...

And in the state it's in now, you could finish it with Kiwi shoe polish dissolved in crankcase oil and it'd turn out nicer than that mess. What did they varnish with--Thompson's Water Seal??

The main color looks like what people use to paint old wooden picnic tables.

This is the finish you would expect to find on reproduction period furniture imported from China or India... it's hard to imagine what they did to end up this way AND harder still to think they thought it looked good enough to leave it...

This could/should be a beautiful machine... but it would take some work to reverse it.

Barf...… Tom

This is in NJ and has been for sale for a while... given the desecration and the price, $2250, there’s no question why. These people also have a $1600 VV-XVII “professionally restored” with “immaculate work done by the team at the Victor victrola web site,” whomever that may be. I emailed and asked them once but they never replied.

brianu wrote:This is in NJ and has been for sale for a while... given the desecration and the price, $2250, there’s no question why. These people also have a $1600 VV-XVII “professionally restored” with “immaculate work done by the team at the Victor victrola web site,” whomever that may be. I emailed and asked them once but they never replied.

http://www.victor-victrola.com/About%20Us.htm

mick_vt wrote:

brianu wrote:This is in NJ and has been for sale for a while... given the desecration and the price, $2250, there’s no question why. These people also have a $1600 VV-XVII “professionally restored” with “immaculate work done by the team at the Victor victrola web site,” whomever that may be. I emailed and asked them once but they never replied.

http://www.victor-victrola.com/About%20Us.htm

I don't know, but I don't believe that the muddy looking "restoration" shown was by the same people at the site referenced. Maybe someone knows the people at Victor-Victrola.com and could clear this up. Either way, that is a sad fate for a VV-XVIII. They show some of their restoration work on the site and it does not look like this.

If Paul Edie and/or Bob Baumbach were responsible for that job, I'll eat that entire VV-XVIII.

George P.

Django wrote:

mick_vt wrote:

brianu wrote:This is in NJ and has been for sale for a while... given the desecration and the price, $2250, there’s no question why. These people also have a $1600 VV-XVII “professionally restored” with “immaculate work done by the team at the Victor victrola web site,” whomever that may be. I emailed and asked them once but they never replied.

http://www.victor-victrola.com/About%20Us.htm

I don't know, but I don't believe that the muddy looking "restoration" shown was by the same people at the site referenced. Maybe someone knows the people at Victor-Victrola.com and could clear this up. Either way, that is a sad fate for a VV-XVIII. They show some of their restoration work on the site and it does not look like this.

I believe the claim was made of an XVII from the same seller, not of this machine... the one shown in the post about the shiny tone arm