The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Some years ago Christopher Proudfoot wrote a short booklet on Decca portables published through CLPGS. If you have any interest in Decca i highly recommend getting hold of a copy. Since that time several models not mentioned or included in the booklet have appeared for sale on certain well known auction sites, including for me personally the most interesting of the lot being a "D" ended (using CP's terminology) 130 which I now own to compliment my "standard" 130 which I consider to be about the best portable gramophone made anywhere by any company.

I note a "5" is now for sale on Ebay which looks suspiciously like it might have been intended as a "Junior" type underling to the late 30's "10" in a range that also included the "20" and "30" and the D ended late style 130 mentioned. The "5" has a square ended case with the more typical recessed and black rexine covered motorboard but it has that peculiar depth of reach between the end of case and the spindle, identical to the 10, 20 and 30. However, the tonearm is mounted on a curved extension of the motorboard and not independently like the more expensive 20 and 30 models. In this aspect again it is identical to the 10. It clearly is a budget priced version of the already budget model, 10!

For anyone interested:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335317646396 ... media=COPY

Then there's that oddball outlier, the 150, with metal motorboard and seemingly from the mid-30's period with a case otherwise similar to the 85/90 models, although somewhat curiously (and uniquely for Decca) the reflector has added wings to the side similar to some Columbia models. Meanwhile the standard auto-brake of the period appears to be missing in action! Confused anyone?

I recall in a brief chat with Christopher that he was considering an update of the Decca story and hopefully if he reads this he might care to add his thoughts here but I wonder how many other oddities there still might be out there waiting to be rediscovered?

It makes me wonder if some models were very poor sellers.

I agree with Steve that the 130 was probably the best portable made by any company, but surely the worst Decca must be the "Crescendo", which was given away in return for the coupons from cigarette packets. It was never included in any of their catalogues, the only reference to it being made by Decca was in the lid transfer. It's such a cheap and nasty machine that Decca were probably reluctant to include it in their literature.

Barrry

The Crescendo would not have been included in any Decca literature because it was not branded as a Decca. You are probably right that it was a 'premium' product for cigarette cards or similar (can anyone produce firm evidence for that?)

The CLPGS Reference Series booklet on the Decca portables was updated, and now includes a reference to the D-ended 130, as well as a firm date for the 150 - it was introduced in 1932. But the '5' is a new on on me - thanks for the reference. If it were very cheap (instead of very expensive) I would buy it just to get a decent photo for the next edition. One of the 'pros' of the Reference Series is that they are printed in very small batches, and updates can therefore occur frequently.

Oedipus wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2024 11:19 am The Crescendo would not have been included in any Decca literature because it was not branded as a Decca. You are probably right that it was a 'premium' product for cigarette cards or similar (can anyone produce firm evidence for that?)

The CLPGS Reference Series booklet on the Decca portables was updated, and now includes a reference to the D-ended 130, as well as a firm date for the 150 - it was introduced in 1932. But the '5' is a new on on me - thanks for the reference. If it were very cheap (instead of very expensive) I would buy it just to get a decent photo for the next edition. One of the 'pros' of the Reference Series is that they are printed in very small batches, and updates can therefore occur frequently.

Well, the "5" has been for sale for a couple of months at least. If you think £150 is expensive, try £250, the original asking price!

My guess is that we will still see this offered in several weeks time unless the seller drops the price significantly again.

As for the 150, thank you for confirming this. I am slightly fascinated by this machine. Why, for instance, does it have a unique model ID plaque/tag?

Oedipus wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2024 11:19 am The Crescendo would not have been included in any Decca literature because it was not branded as a Decca. You are probably right that it was a 'premium' product for cigarette cards or similar (can anyone produce firm evidence for that?)

.

The Crescendo was the first gramophone I ever owned, (and I hated it even then!) It was given to me by an Aunt who told me she saved cigarette coupons for a very long time to get it! The only reference to the maker was the writing under the Crescendo logo in the record pocket which states "Made by the Decca Gramophone Company".

Barry

Thank you for confirming what I suspected about the cigarette card origin of the Crescendo, Barry.

As for why the 150 has a unique label, not having one to hand, I don't know in what way the label is unique, but in any case trying to guess why manufacturers did what they did is usually a fruitless exercise! As far as I know, the 150never had the paper label with date code etc. found on earlier and later Barnett Samuel machines --though it's possible, if the 150 survived into the late 1930s, that some late examples might have been so labelled.

I cannot remember where I heard or read it, but I believe that the Crescendo was obtainable with Ardath cigarette coupons.
It is probably not a coincidence that needle tins were manufactured with the Ardath brand name.

Oedipus wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2024 7:48 am Thank you for confirming what I suspected about the cigarette card origin of the Crescendo, Barry.

As for why the 150 has a unique label, not having one to hand, I don't know in what way the label is unique, but in any case trying to guess why manufacturers did what they did is usually a fruitless exercise! As far as I know, the 150never had the paper label with date code etc. found on earlier and later Barnett Samuel machines --though it's possible, if the 150 survived into the late 1930s, that some late examples might have been so labelled.

I've just bought a 150 so I'll happily share some photos when it arrives.

The 150 as promised, belatedly: