The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here is a difficult Zonophone to find. This is a glass sided London Grand. It is an International model .It is very similar to the version made for the U.S. market that was the Concert Grand glass sided. I have had a couple of the International models and they were stamped made in U.S.A. on the bottom I am very sure all the Zonophones are U.S. made and some were made for export??? The bottom has been replaced very neatly.The crank is a repro along with the horn arms. Very tuff to find original and about 4 times more expensive than this one if you can even find one for sale.The reproducer is original along with the horn. Very tough to find in any condition. This shows very well ! I will ship this at buyers expense. First to post SOLD gets it. NOTE; JUST CLICK ON PICTURE AND IT WILL SHOW UP STRAIGHT. 3000.00

LOWER PRICE; 3,000.00

Is there a historical illustration or catalogue entry for a London Grand? Does anyone else have such a model in his collection?

Here's a period catalog entry. I used to own one of these impressive machines, though mine did not have the embossed Cyrillic text. I know of a few others in collections.

It should be pointed out that the Zonophone "London Grand" has a decal from the International Zonophone Company (shown above), while the Zonophone "Concert Grand" (as shown in Rene's catalog illustration) carries a celluloid tag marked National Gramophone Corporation. (Images are from an article that appeared in the June 2021 issue of the APS magazine.)
George P.

THANKS GEORGE!

I'll add that the one I owned had no decal and no tag (nor any indication either had ever existed). Mine also differed in that the upright support rod passed through the top of the lower arm, and there was a thumb screw that pressed against the front of the cabinet. Both of these features appear in the catalog illustration I posted earlier, but I haven't seen them on any of the other examples I've seen.

For such a scarce machine, I'm surprised at how many variations there are.

Thank you very much, George and Rene. The model shown by you is familiar to me, but the type introduced by forum member Rigid Arm R shows some significant differences: the dimensions of the top plate of the case are much bigger in proportion and the moulded part in the centre has a different design, especially around the crank hole, see arrow symbol. I therefore thought that the London Grand was a different model, introduced 1902/03, which I haven't seen before.