The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just came across this link to the late Roger Thorne's collection.

Seems no-one knew just how many machines and records he had until he passed away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... death.html

Thanks for posting. I was aware of the auction, but I was not aware of the fact that I used to live just a few miles away from him.

I bought two items from that sale! Everybody who saw the machines though appeared to agree that years of neglect had left the vast majority in quite a sorry state. It's a great pity really. A lesson for me to learn, if not all of us?

WoW! I never heard of this man or his collection but it really is amazing. It's a shame he didn't leave any funds to either build a Museum of Sound Recording OR simply let other such existing museums select some of the models that are missing from their collections.
Thanks for posting the article & pics!

I got two items from the Thorne collection. This is one of them, a beautiful poster of c. 1908:



Could someone please identify the Pathé model? Is it in someone's collection?

1923VictorFan wrote:It's a shame he didn't leave any funds to either build a Museum of Sound Recording OR simply let other such existing museums select some of the models that are missing from their collections.

I don't think that a museum of sound recording has a chance of survival without considerable, yearly public funds. In all seriousness, do you really see any public interest to build up such a museum against the current economic background?

In the same way it wasn't advisable to let some museum curator pick out the more interesting auction lots for small money, and sell off the large remainder. From what I have already heard the new owners are proud of their possessions and will care about them better than many custodians in dusty museum depots.

In Europe alone the EMI collection has gone, the Dutch Phonographic Museum had to close its doors and merge with the Audiovisiual Archive in Hilversum. The whole collection is now stored in far less than ideal conditions and is probably lost.
There hardly is any interest with the general public for a museum on a larger scale.

I got two items from the Thorne collection. This is one of them, a beautiful poster of c. 1908:

Yes, and I was the underbidder!
The model(e) is a '14' and they are as rare as hen's teeth. That is why a decent '12' with good horn makes so much money today on European Ebay.

I agree, that if the new custodians are anything like me, you will have probably paid 20-30 times as much as Mr Thorne did originally to acquire the same item and you will no doubt treasure it and look after it as many times better too!

Steve wrote:

I got two items from the Thorne collection. This is one of them, a beautiful poster of c. 1908:

Yes, and I was the underbidder!

I am surprised - I thought my rival was a French collector or dealer.

Do you know who won the "Melba" reproducer?

[quote="1923VictorFan"It's a shame he didn't leave any funds to either build a Museum of Sound Recording OR simply let other such existing museums select some of the models that are missing from their collections. [/quote]

I must pile on with the sentiment that a museum is probably not the best place for prized talking machines and records. Aside from the public disinterest and subsequent lack of funding, all too often prized artifacts are subject to mishandling by the unknowing or the careless. I have great respect for a few public museums, but even they have their horror stories. All it takes is one student intern...

When I was a teenager and into my twenties, I toyed with the idea of leaving my collection to our county museum. Over the years I've realized what a mistake that would be. The best conservators of the artifacts we collect are (with certain exceptions) collectors. Collectors who are poor conservators are the exception to the rule. However, it seems that where talking machines are concerned, most museums are not kind to them.

George P.