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Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:57 am
by phonodesbois
What is it?
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/145326539024
It's old,
must be for a saphir gramophone,
the arm looks like a Pathé arm,
I really don't understand how it was supported and on which machine;
Of course, it's not mine.
Any clue?
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 9:09 am
by poodling around
phonodesbois wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:57 am
What is it?
weird horn.jpg
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/145326539024
It's old,
must be for a saphir gramophone,
the arm looks like a Pathé arm,
I really don't understand how it was supported and on which machine;
Of course, it's not mine.
Any clue?
Very interesting indeed.
My first thought was that it may have been used aboard a ship because of the colour and shade of blue ???
I do like it a lot !
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:11 am
by epigramophone
It is not in the 1914 Pathé catalogue (PDF) which I have, but I would love to see the back bracket which supported it.
It could be of German origin. Some "Mammut" horns featured elongated tubing, but not as elongated as this.
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 12:16 pm
by phonodesbois
epigramophone wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 10:11 am
I would love to see the back bracket which supported it.
Me too!
Furthermore, I don't understand where to attach this horn to a back bracket...
(I didn't find anything similar in my Pathé documentation.)
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:32 pm
by Curt A
This is basically a horn with a permanently attached elbow (and a coiled extension in between). It would be a slip fit connection into the back bracket much like a Zonophone back mount. The tone arm would attach separately like on a back mount Pathé. The coiled tube would in effect lengthen the horn substantially without the need for a long horn body. I'm attaching a pic of a Zonophone back mount horn with permanently attached elbow to show similarities...

- Zono.png (430.34 KiB) Viewed 3446 times
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 1:38 pm
by Curt A
Here is another French slip mount horn & elbow...

- Screenshot 2023-09-30 at 1.36.04 PM.png (368.34 KiB) Viewed 3446 times
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2023 8:34 pm
by Curt A
PS: If it doesn't work the way I imagined, then I don't have any other idea...
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:51 am
by CarlosV
phonodesbois wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:57 am
What is it?
Any clue?
This horn belongs to the larger variation of the Pathé Concert machine, the one that looks like a confessional, with the horn concealed inside the cabinet with only the bell visible behind a bas-relief of a Muse. It is a standard Pathé horn of the period attached to the coiled plumbing that connects to the arm. The smaller version (I have one of them) does not have the coiled plumbing, it is a straight connection.
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2023 6:17 am
by Steve
CarlosV wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 5:51 am
phonodesbois wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2023 7:57 am
What is it?
Any clue?
This horn belongs to the larger variation of the Pathé Concert machine, the one that looks like a confessional, with the horn concealed inside the cabinet with only the bell visible behind a bas-relief of a Muse. It is a standard Pathé horn of the period attached to the coiled plumbing that connects to the arm. The smaller version (I have one of them) does not have the coiled plumbing, it is a straight connection.
Thank you, Carlos. That is very interesting information. I'd never seen such a horn either so it's useful to know what it is for future reference. I thought it looked like a standard Pathé horn but couldn't work out how it was supported but looking at my Concert style "Salon No. 7" I can see how that would work.
Re: Old weird horn on eBay.fr
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2023 9:46 am
by CarlosV
Steve wrote: Sun Oct 01, 2023 6:17 am
Thank you, Carlos. That is very interesting information. I'd never seen such a horn either so it's useful to know what it is for future reference. I thought it looked like a standard Pathé horn but couldn't work out how it was supported but looking at my Concert style "Salon No. 7" I can see how that would work.
Yes, Steve, the whole thing is held in place by an attachment to the back panel of the cabinet - similarly to your smaller version. What escapes me is the reason for Pathé engineers to have designed this coiled pipe instead of a straight connection. Maybe some bogus theory about sound propagation. I heard one of such machines play and it is not as loud as a Concert Automatique, that has a larger horn and a straight pipe connecting it to the arm.