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http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-1918-Amplip ... 1295wt_934


Never heard of the brand before, but it is quite nice. Slap an Orthophonic on there, and it could pass for a Credenza

Looks nice on the outside, but I've seen one with the grille off- the horn was just a couple of angled boards with no curve or taper- not even as well made as a Truphonic Silvertone.

Once again, the seller sees a patent date and assumes that's when it was made. Interesting lid, though. Kind of a cross between the Credenza and earlier models. I think the asking price is a tad optimistic.

Pretty ambitious machine for a company in a little place like Pulaski. You have to admire their pluck, but it still looks like the Credenza's less attractive cousin. Has the finish been touched up? It has that smeary "too shiny" look that one gets from putting on a coat of fresh varnish over an old finish.

bbphonoguy wrote: It has that smeary "too shiny" look that one gets from putting on a coat of fresh varnish over an old finish.

I wondered about that, myself. Looking at the decal, though, I noticed some dry looking spots above the name, that show up almost white in the photo. They remind me of what a finish looks like a few hours after you apply an oil based polish such as Old English Scratch Cover or Scott's Liquid Gold.

bbphonoguy wrote:Pretty ambitious machine for a company in a little place like Pulaski. You have to admire their pluck, but it still looks like the Credenza's less attractive cousin. Has the finish been touched up? It has that smeary "too shiny" look that one gets from putting on a coat of fresh varnish over an old finish.

Pulaski had a furniture industry for a while, a lot of places in the lake area did, of course the biggest area for furniture was Jamestown which did some really high end phonograph cases. You'll often find that the independent makes are somehow connected to a cabinet industry, often but not always piano makers. I have a portable from Dayton Ohio with a motor built by a maker of farm machinery.

estott wrote:Pulaski had a furniture industry for a while, a lot of places in the lake area did, of course the biggest area for furniture was Jamestown which did some really high end phonograph cases.

I had forgotten about the Jamestown furniture industry. It makes more sense now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at what small town factories can produce. Wasn't the Smith-Corona typewriter made in Moravia, New York? And they were world famous in their time.

Ahhhh . . . pre-mega-corporate America. For example, if you ever visit little-bitty Rising Sun, Indiana between Cincinnati and where we live in Madison, Indiana on the Ohio River, you can see the home of J.W. Whitlock still standing, and out back, the remains of what amounts to a large garage where the Automatic Harps (distributed by Wurlitzer) were designed and manufactured. Amazing that such magnificent things could be produced in such a small space! Rolls cut, too!

It's like a Credenza clone except not nearly as intricate woodwork as the real thing, and after hearing the horn is just a big conventional type, I definitely wouldn't want it for the size it takes up. Wonder what the soundbox looks like.

It's really rather deceptive- the side panels aren't doors (unlike the Credenza) and the record storage under the horn means it's a lot of cabinet surrounding a modest machine. As it's a NY State product I like it, but it's still comparatively crappy. BTW- the machine I'd really like is a Mastertonic made in nearby Cohoes NY- the one I've seen was a pretty simple table model but I still want one.