The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I was lucky enough to run across this 16 the other day. Let me start by saying that is it in amazing original condition, I was really pleasantly surprised. The lady I bought it from told me that she and her husband had bought it from an estate, some 30yrs ago, in Memphis (TN) and that it came from a mansion. She had never played it, and her husband played only a few records when they first bought it but was scared he would break it so them left it alone. The condition shows the lack of play. It has all of the original record books and record index book which are all in like new condition. Ok, enough of the condition I think yall all get it. What I was really intrigued to find was the newspaper article that shows two men walking down the stairs of the mansion in Memphis with this very phonograph while clearing it out. I looked up the address and found the lady who lived there (the owner) as well as the history and several pictures of the house before it was destroyed. It is a beautiful machine, but being able to put a face, place and time to a machine is what I love.

Wow!

The sort of breathtaking find a collector dreams about.

The sort of breathtaking find a collector dreams about.

That is exactly the type of thing that really makes this hobby interesting... All of our machines have some type of similar history, but it is very unusual to be able to put it in context and actually picture it. Amazing... Congratulations on an exceptional find.

The destruction of the house at 1585 Central has been a topic of controversy, since it was considered to be of historic importance. You can read more about it here: https://storyboardmemphis.org/neighborh ... tory-part/

Provenance is wonderful, and such a huge wealth of provenance is even better. A lucky find!

Very interesting story about a nice machine. The VV-XVI was not the most expensive machine but it had the best Victrola mechanism with the largest Victrola horn available. The more expensive models had more embellishment to the cabinetry. My only suggestion is to play and enjoy your Victrola. It's a mechanical device that needs to be exercised regularly. After a long time of inactivity it would benefit from basic servicing. You can find threads using the search feature of our Forum that make suggestions for servicing your Victrola. Enjoy it!

Jerry B.

Always a pleasure to see and read about machines with a known history, but what an act of vandalism to demolish it's former home.

A wonderful and relatively rare find (because of the provenance), congratulations!

Cheers,
Fran

Like we all do, I always try to dig and find some history on any item that I run across whether it be phonographs or old military items. I was so excited to find as many personal and original items with this one, I have never and probably will not find another one like it. And let me add, what happened to that house is an absolute shame. The fact that most the history of the items that were sold out of the house will be lost, which happens every day. Once they change hands they are just another piece of furniture etc.

I had to share, the story was too neat.

T