A Collector Story

[rodpickett]

On a recent antique mall excursion I spotted an unusual bread-board type radio tucked away in the bottom of a display cabinet. It was unusual because it was housed in a metal cabinet and was red in color and appeared to be in excellent condition. The red actually looked closer in color to the maroon Edison used on the GEM and Fireside horn. The price tag on this Neutrowound radio was $995. Since the price on a nearby Edison Home phonograph, in very poor condition was $1395, I assumed the $995 price was a bit high.

I contacted a radio collector at random after visiting his web site via a Google search and included a photo of the radio with a simple question, “This seems a bit high and would you be willing to offer an opinion?”

I received a pleasant response from the collector indicating that $800 for that particular radio would be more reasonable however they were difficult to find in that condition because the paint used in the original manufacture was water soluble and was usually faded and / or missing. Further, that radio was offered in three colors: black, blue and red, but the red seemed more difficult to find. His final comment was “good luck in your negotiations with the dealer”.

After thinking about it I decided I wasn’t interested in spending the money so I e-mailed the collector back and provided him with the name, address and phone number of the antique mall in the event he was interested in pursuing the radio. He replied with a thank-you and said he had the blue and black ones in his collection but had been looking for a mint red one for some time.

A couple of days ago I received a thank-you note from the collector along with a $25 deposit to my PayPal account. He was successful in his acquisition.

A nice gesture indeed.

[TinfoilPhono]

Great story and great karma. That's the way it should work in the world of collecting.

Several years ago I went to a locksmith to have keys made for a lock on my Edison Bijou. Behind the counter the owner hung some pictures of things he was selling. Among them was a Mills "Commercial" drop-card poker machine, at a ridiculously low price. I asked about it and he said he had it at home and would bring it in the next day. I drove over right at opening and sure enough, it was the real thing. But it had a minor crack in the curved glass. I didn't even notice it as I was reaching for my wallet but he knocked another $100 off before I said anything.

It was a scarce variation that had originally been mounted to a deep wooden base with cash drawer. I contacted a collector who was extremely helpful getting me dimensions and details on the base, and even sent me a reprinted original catalog. I had Steve Farmer reproduce a base out of salvaged old wood.

I enjoyed it for a year or so but ultimately I decided I couldn't tie up that space when I have so many phonographs that mean more to me.... I considered eBaying it but first I went back to the collector who had been so helpful. He was thrilled to have the chance to buy it. His offer struck me as very fair so I took it and we were both happy. I might have gotten more on eBay, I'll never know. And I don't care. I'm just glad it went to the right person.

[ColoradoPhonograf]

Great stories seem to follow the history of some of these machines and are fun to hear about. Thanks for sharing those.

I have a good story about a collector friend on the west coast. He purchased a machine off of eBay near me and asked if I would pick it up for him and hold it a couple of months till someone coming and going to Union would be passing through town to transport it. I was happy to help and went to the seller's house to pick it up. I walked into the presence of the most beautiful original VTLA I had ever seen. I told the seller that I was also a phonograph collector but was just helping out. The seller was a serious radio collector who just happened to know about phonographs through his travels. He showed me his collection and it was very intriguing to learn more about early radios.

After a few months, the radio collector called me one day out of the blue and told me he had bought another Victrola locally. He asked me what a Victrola XVIII might be worth. At that time I wasn't into the higher end machines and told him I would ask around. About a day later I called him and said "why don't you call the west coast collector you sold the other one to and see if he is interested." He said, "yeah, I could, but I'd rather see you have it." I stumbled around getting some cash in hand and thought about an old radio I had bought on a whim a year before. It had a great case and chassis but it needed work and that wasn't my area of interest. He sold me the Victrola XVIII at a very nice price and I loaded it up on my truck. I gave him the money and then went back to the truck and pulled out the Cathedral RCA radio and handed it to him and said it was better for him to have it than me. He was happy to get a new project as a bonus gift. Everybody was smiling as I drove away. It was a good feeling knowing certain things belong in certain places.

ColoradoPhonograf

[Starkton]

Did you know that a Victrola XVIII and a red Neutrowound radio have about the same value in the respective collectors' markets? This would be a fair exchange and both could walk happily away.

[beaumonde]

Did you know that a Victrola XVIII and a red Neutrowound radio have about the same value in the respective collectors' markets? This would be a fair exchange and both could walk happily away.

I would think the XVIII would be worth twice as much at least, based on the info in this thread?

[Starkton]

Did you know that a Victrola XVIII and a red Neutrowound radio have about the same value in the respective collectors' markets? This would be a fair exchange and both could walk happily away.

I would think the XVIII would be worth twice as much at least, based on the info in this thread?

Both are much sought after high end models. A red Neutrowound radio sold for $3100 in 2007: http://www.antiqueradio.com/Feb09_Boyce_Estes.html which would be appropriate for a XVIII in nice condition also. Of course values could vary considerably, but both items seem to be on the same level which is a good basis for trading.