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Hello all, just have a few questions regarding this HMV 102 I just purchased. From what I have seen online, the label which has the quote/serial number went from round to rectangular in 1936, is this correct? I am just wondering because mine has the earlier style round serial label but I also noticed that it does not have the two metal pegs in the motor board, on either side of the turntable. I was wondering if these were on all models up to 1936 then were removed? I am just looking for some clarifications about my model specifically. The serial number/quote number on mine is 1020 44867. Thanks!

You might want to roam through this:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=37206&start=30

Thank you, I was roaming around on that thread earlier. I just seem to be confused about the two pegs that I see on the motor board which apparently disappeared after 1936, but apparently that's also when the numbering system changed and it went to a rectangular label. Mine has the earlier quote number with the round label and no pegs (I'm referring to what's circled in the photo)

Sorry, I don't have an answer, but instead, another question. What is the function of those pegs?

The pegs engaged with the "feet" on the tray, preventing it from rotating when the machine was in transit.
Later trays had no feet, and the pegs were therefore no longer fitted.
It is thought that the trays were discontinued as a wartime economy measure. They were never reintroduced.

I don't know exactly when the pegs disappeared, only that they had gone 'by' 1936 -- in other words, it could have happened earlier. The round label was replaced by a rectangular one in 1935, but again I can't say exactly when. It does not follow that changes like this happened on January 1 of a given year!

So your 102 could provide evidence that the pegs disappeared as early as 1934 -- but there may have been an overlap period when some had the pegs and some did not (for example, if motor boards in some colours were being used from existing stock after other colours were being made without the pegs.) Also, changes were not always made at the same time in all the company's branches. I know, for example, that the 1929 metal labels survived in use in India for a considerable time after they were discontinued at Hayes.

All in all, I wouldn't worry about the apparent anomaly of a pegless 102 with a round label. Sadly we have no factory records to consult for the pre-1936 serial numbers.