The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Bonjour à tous.
J'essaie encore une fois de poster ce sujet.
Connaissez vous cette marque "The BRITTANY" et connaissez vous sa date de fabrication et sa provenance ?
Merci pour votre aide.
Amicalement.

Never seen one before like this... but it has similar things to a Pathé machine...

The openings in the front of the case suggest a "Jour et Nuit" design, as here :

I can't quite see from the picture, but presumably the tonearm can be quickly removed, inverted, and fitted into an opening in the case for the internal horn?

An Balores wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2023 5:20 am I can't quite see from the picture, but presumably the tonearm can be quickly removed, inverted, and fitted into an opening in the case for the internal horn?

That is correct. Pathé records tended to be loud, so using the smaller internal horn reduced the volume.
Many French people lived in apartment blocks, where lower volume helped to keep the neighbours happy.

My first impression was "why is there a speaker grill in the cabinet" - a pic from the top would confirm that there is / was a hole at back left for a tabletop tonearm. Maybe a Jour et Nuit type, but not from Pathé, due to the Brittany transfer?

My take is that this is a Frankenphone. The external horn seems fixed to a back bracket, so there is apparently no way to connect the arm to the internal horn, as in a Pathé, where you lift the bracket that supports the horn, disconnect the arm and invert it inserting it in the same hole on the top of the plinth that fits the bracket (that communicates with the internal horn). As to the respective volumes of the Pathé, in my machine both external and internal horns sound about equally loud, the story of Jour et Nuit being mostly a gimmick.

Pascal 34 wrote: Tue Dec 12, 2023 12:25 pm Bonjour à tous.
J'essaie encore une fois de poster ce sujet.
Connaissez vous cette marque "The BRITTANY" et connaissez vous sa date de fabrication et sa provenance ?
Merci pour votre aide.
Amicalement.
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20231212_181933.jpg

English translation:
Hello everyone.

I'm trying to post this topic again.
Do you know this brand "The BRITTANY" and do you know its date of manufacture and origin?

Thank you for your help.
Friendly.