The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just picked up this reproducer / soundbox. Just wondering if anyone has any information on it.

Thanks, Todd

I like the ease of needle replacement.

It may be of use to know that Meteor phonograph and record manufacturer was located about 40 miles from Yellow Springs.

James.

PS: After an hour or more of internet searches ... I got nothing!

The lettering looks like it might have been individually stamped with those stamp sets a machinist uses.
Did you try to see if a magnet sticks to it? Is it wearing any tooling marks (turning instead of die casting?)

I love it. It looks like a homemade take on the basic design, and I bet an Exhibition back flange would work.

Yes there are turn marks so it was made on a lathe also you can see some other markings stamped into the housing, possibly part numbers or revision numbers. It weighs 170 grams which is quite heavy. The spring mechanism holds the needle in very tight and is well thought out.

Just another guess ... Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, perhaps a student/teacher created it.

It's awesome regardless.

James.

I have a friend in Yellow Springs who owns another example, in presentation box. No data has surfaced. Info may be buried in local newspaper in microfilm format. I’ve searched everything I can that has been digitized.

My take? Local music shop owner was also the jeweler and was friendly with a machine shop!

The orthography strikes me as odd. In the usual English usage, the open quotation marks go above the line; here, they are below, which I *think* is European practice.

drh wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:54 pm The orthography strikes me as odd. In the usual English usage, the open quotation marks go above the line; here, they are below, which I *think* is European practice.

German- down low at the start of the quote, up high at the end. Lots of Germans in Ohio then.

According to the Victor-Victrola website, Victor made a No. 15 soundbox for a short time prior to the introduction of the Exhibition. You can read about it here:
http://www.victor-victrola.com/Soundboxes.htm

The one pictured is called "Version 2," which makes me wonder what Version 1 looked like. Other than "No. 15," I do not know if this has anything to do with your soundbox, which is a beauty, as others have commented.

John

long_island_phono wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:53 pm I have a friend in Yellow Springs who owns another example, in presentation box. No data has surfaced. Info may be buried in local newspaper in microfilm format. I’ve searched everything I can that has been digitized.

My take? Local music shop owner was also the jeweler and was friendly with a machine shop!

Thanks for the information. It's good to see there are 2 of these.