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Maybe I am tired today, but I can't remember having seen a serial number rectangular plaque like this without a B-code showing the year of manufacture?

A blue 102 landed on my doorstep yesterday, from the photos I thought it would be a donor machine, because it looked so scrappy, but sometimes objects look better in real life than on the photos, even if it is (from my experience) more often the other way around when it comes to gramophones...

Your machine probably pre-dates the introduction of the "B" code, which took place in 1936.
Having said that, most early 102's have a circular plaque, not a rectangular one.

I have no documentary evidence, but I have always assumed this style of plaque dates from 1935.

About that... My only black 102 MOS edition from 1945 was bought cheap, as for parts, from eBay USA, and it resulted a perfectly usable machine, with an ugly plant pot mark and a needle run on the turntable felt as the only faults! The pot mark went out easily with black shoe polish, and the felt still has the needle run, but it works and plays marvelously!

We can have a look at the photos received, before I bought it. We can see it has a no. 4 soundbox, and the case cover looked very "brittle", and quite some rust, that maybe also had attacked the motor. So from the photos I had already expected to throw the case to waste, and only use the motor, winding handle, and also save the motor board and turntable for later. I am currently servicing the machine, including the case, so we later on can see how it looks after a good cleaning etc.
As you say too Inigo, one never really know before receveing the machine what state it is in, so one should never say never.
Getting the machine for €20 was of course a bargain, and no one really seem to want it, since it was for sale for two weeks before I made an offer.

Photos uploaded, all taken by the seller, before I puchased it.

Ahaaaa, the same situation. The seller photos se very well, it's a machine to restore a bit and play it. Marvelous! What a bargain!

I finished serviced it around midnight yesterday. As we can see there is not much wrong with the case cover, and the only spot that is visible on the case now, is a thin white line at the front of the case that can easily be covered with blue shoe cream. There are realy no other visible marks under the lid etc. Apart from that it now is only missing a No 5 soundbox, that I have at hand, and a tungsten needle box holder ( that I have in store) where one screw was impossible to remove so I had to break the (rusty) metal holder.

Light conditions and camera settings had a big impact on the before and after photos of this machine, so this time the machine went from close to scrappy to becoming an above average, and even close to very respectable machine during some short hours.

Thank you to Roger and Oedipus for dating the machine to 1935, and also to Inigo for all positive inputs !

That's just beautiful.

I keep yanking myself away from wanting a blue, red, grey, and green example of these machines and you blokes keep re-stoking the zombie fire!

Nice!

It has the blue needle tray as opposed to the chrome one that featured on earlier examples.
Not quite sure when they changed it but would make sense it’s 1934/1935.