The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Just bought this oak lidded Pathé model III at our local town-wide yard sale for $65.00, after an hour of "jawing" with the seller. After a big time cleaning and motor lubrication / adjustments, etc, this Pathé runs very well and is very, very, loud. I got it so cheap because it is missing the entire front grille which hides the wood internal horn. I'm not sure if this Pathé uses a metal grille like many of the Edison Amberola machines, or a wood grille. (or if it had any grille cloth) I carefully checked what would be the slip-in-the-groove dimensions of the missing grille. It would be 12 ¾ inches wide, 6 ⅜ inches tall, and aprox. an ⅛ inch thick, if it were made of wood. Probably the same width & height if it were made of metal. BUT the cabinet looks like it is grooved pretty thick, most likely for a wood grille of some sort. Any thoughts where I might find, or someone who can make a replacement oak or metal grille? I'm not sure what the cut-outs would even look like? Thanks, Brian Keith

I think it would have been wood. I had a Pathé Frères Model 50 in mahogany that was similar to the one you bought. It was surprising loud as well and had a wood grille with no cloth. Here it is:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsfXwZog8Ck[/youtube]

Congratulations! You got a great deal for $65 I think.

I found this picture of a Pathéphone Model IV, which looks very similar to yours. Hope that helps.

Andreas

It would have a grill, not a "grille". A grille is where one goes to eat!

I just found a picture of your Pathéphone Model 3 on page 171 of the Fabrizio/Paul book "Discovering Antique Phongraphs". If you don't have the book I'm sure forum member phonogfp could be convinced to post a scan of this picture. It's only a small picture from an old flyer, but the grill looks similar to the one from Pathéphone 25 on page 170 of the same book.

Andreas

JohnM wrote:It would have a grill, not a "grille". A grille is where one goes to eat!

From Wikipedia

*In the United States, "grille" is used to differentiate the automotive part from the cooking device, called a "grill".

And from the American Heritage Dictionary

Grille-
1. A grating of metal, wood, or another material used as a screen, divider, barrier, or decorative element, as in a window or on the front end of an automotive vehicle.
2. An opening covered with a grating.

Grill-
1. To broil on a gridiron.
2. To torture or afflict as if by broiling.
3. Informal To question relentlessly; cross-examine.
4. To mark or emboss with a gridiron.
5. A cooking surface of parallel metal bars; a gridiron.
6. Food cooked by broiling or grilling.
7. A grillroom.
Not that it REALLY matters all that much anyway. It's just another one of those words where the spelling seems interchangable.

Yes,

It is the old potaitoe potahtoe discussion. Brits (including the whole old commonwealth) use the one, Yanks the other and to be fair, I couldn't care less.
On topic: I wouldn't make a grill(e) for it. The horn is so beautiful, why hide it? Pathé made loads of open horned machines anyhow, so there is a fair change that yours never even had a grill(e). And yes, these machines can be very loud, incredibly so, much louder than other machines, even though the actual horn length often is quite short.

Thanks for all the photos and suggestions. (and the grille vs grill discussion - made me quite hungry) This Pathé III has upper and lower slots cut out into the cabinet to accept some sort of grille, so I am sure that it had a slip-in grille. After looking at the photos maybe I will try to make a grille using some ⅛" oak if I can find any at a hobby store or Home Depot. My wife has a scroll saw so maybe she can cut out the slots for me to match those photos. I would prefer to find a parts machine with an original decent grille though, but that's a long shot. And yes, this machine is louder than any talking machine I own, must be the reproducer & all wood soundbox combination, even though it is a very plain-jane looking phonograph. (Nothing special to look at.) Brian Keith

Thanks, GShane! You're the best!

alang wrote:I just found a picture of your Pathéphone Model 3 on page 171 of the Fabrizio/Paul book "Discovering Antique Phongraphs". If you don't have the book I'm sure forum member phonogfp could be convinced to post a scan of this picture. It's only a small picture from an old flyer, but the grill looks similar to the one from Pathéphone 25 on page 170 of the same book.

Andreas

Happy to help!

The Pathéphone "25" was mine, and I can attest to its sound intensity. The grille cloth was original (and frayed).

George P.