Diamond Disc question.

[flashpanblue]

Hello,
I was wondering what you would have to pay for one of the Edison Army and Navy Diamond Disc machines? A friend of mine collects historical firearms.He really likes Worlds War One stuff and has a complete uniform that he wears when he puts on his displays at the shows. I thought it might be great if he could aquire one of these machines and play period correct war tunes!
Pete
P.S. personally I think this model of Diamond Disc is a little ugly but I guess it was designed to be rugged not pretty.

[gramophone78]

I saw one for sale a few years ago for 550.00 .They sure are ugly but, they were not made for the home but, for the trench.I would recomend a period Victrola or even a VV-50.The WW1 songs from Victor are the best!!!.I just bought a whole group of WW1 Pathé's.However,nothing beats Victors selection and you can still find them with little problem.

[Garret]

As always, condition is everything. I have had two of these machines. I paid about $650 and later sold the first one for $786, after having a lid latch cast for it, repairing and replacing the broken horn, and repairing the lid. I paid $1200 for the second one I own, and wouldn't dream of selling it for less than that. Why, do you ask, should I pay such a premium price for it? Quite simply, of all the Army and Navy Diamond Disc machines out there, it is the nicest I've seen, even better than a couple very nice examples that have been pictured online. There's nothing wrong with it, and all the original factory accesories are there, so it looks like it just came from the factory. It looks like new. As noted, many of these machines are much cheaper in price, but have suffered repaint jobs, rot damage, missing parts such as the canvas manual and front door, or other problems.

That said, this special phonograph is incredibly rugged. It has steel plate on all corners, a thick door to cover the grille, special attachments to the horn and reproducer to secure it for shipping, 1" thick tongue-and-groove wood planks on the side, and rails on the bottom to further prevent the case from getting damaged in shipping. It weighs just under 100 lbs. It's an incredibly unique piece of World War One history.

[Valecnik]

I think you guys have given a pretty accurate market assessment in this thread, ($600-800) depending very much on condition. Garretts is the exception but also sounds like it is in exceptional condition with those original accessories including the canvas manual. One like that is definitely worth a good bit more and I'd probably pay that much too.