About to buy first gramophone and need advice. A fake?
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:24 pm
I found what is marked as a columbia grafonola upright cabinet model in my local antique store. They are asking $425 US for it but immediately said they'd take $375 without me asking them to drop the price. I think it may not be wholly a Columbia grafonola.
Please, someone advise me. It will be my first gramophone purchase of any kind although I have done my homework.
It is marked on its tag as working but the crank and needle is kept in the front desk of the store. I didn't want to go playing around with it until I had some questions answered by someone who knows gramophones and phonographs.
If it works, I am willing to buy it because I want a phonograph. What I am not willing to do is pay $425 dollars for a columbia grafonola and have it have no collector value at all because it is cobbeled together from God knows what.
From my below description, could someone please advise me what I might offer as a counter price if it is not a grafonola but yet works well enough to play disks. I have worked on clocks and pocketwatches for years and have no problem restoring minor problems. IT would give me something to do.
Here is what makes me think it is not as tagged at the store.
1. I did not see columbia or grafonola marked anywhere on it although it looks like a grafonola cabinet it may be a Cardinal phonograph company cabinet. I'm close to Zanesville, Ohio where cardinal produced their simmilar looking models.
2. the side where the crank goes into the cabinet is set very low on the side as compared to other grafonola pictures I have seen.
3. The place where the crank enteres the cabinet does not have a metal fitting around the hole but a light tan plastic looking washer about 2" in diameter held in place by several screws.
4. All the pictures I have seen of grafonolas with cabinets of this type have a wooden motor board on which the platter sits, this one I am looking at has a raised black anodized metal motorboard with no plates indicating speed or brake. Just has two seperate metal arms that kind of make a "U" shape coming out from under the front right side of the disk platter. They seem to be spring loaded.I swear it looks like a modern aluminum type platter board.
5. The metal motor board seems to be larger than it should be and I think it may be covering up one or more needle cups on the wooden back left portion of the cabinet interior.
6. the wooden hood over the unit does not have a metal slide attaching the hood to the cabinet assembly on the left hand side like I have seen on grafonolas that look like this cabinet.
7. they said it has been in the store for over 2 years with no offers.
This is the kind of cabinet that has several vertical horn slats in the upper front of the cabinet with a two door storage cabinet below the horn output in front.
The case is light colored wood and very plain with not scrollwork and wooden knobs.
Please, someone advise me. It will be my first gramophone purchase of any kind although I have done my homework.
It is marked on its tag as working but the crank and needle is kept in the front desk of the store. I didn't want to go playing around with it until I had some questions answered by someone who knows gramophones and phonographs.
If it works, I am willing to buy it because I want a phonograph. What I am not willing to do is pay $425 dollars for a columbia grafonola and have it have no collector value at all because it is cobbeled together from God knows what.
From my below description, could someone please advise me what I might offer as a counter price if it is not a grafonola but yet works well enough to play disks. I have worked on clocks and pocketwatches for years and have no problem restoring minor problems. IT would give me something to do.
Here is what makes me think it is not as tagged at the store.
1. I did not see columbia or grafonola marked anywhere on it although it looks like a grafonola cabinet it may be a Cardinal phonograph company cabinet. I'm close to Zanesville, Ohio where cardinal produced their simmilar looking models.
2. the side where the crank goes into the cabinet is set very low on the side as compared to other grafonola pictures I have seen.
3. The place where the crank enteres the cabinet does not have a metal fitting around the hole but a light tan plastic looking washer about 2" in diameter held in place by several screws.
4. All the pictures I have seen of grafonolas with cabinets of this type have a wooden motor board on which the platter sits, this one I am looking at has a raised black anodized metal motorboard with no plates indicating speed or brake. Just has two seperate metal arms that kind of make a "U" shape coming out from under the front right side of the disk platter. They seem to be spring loaded.I swear it looks like a modern aluminum type platter board.
5. The metal motor board seems to be larger than it should be and I think it may be covering up one or more needle cups on the wooden back left portion of the cabinet interior.
6. the wooden hood over the unit does not have a metal slide attaching the hood to the cabinet assembly on the left hand side like I have seen on grafonolas that look like this cabinet.
7. they said it has been in the store for over 2 years with no offers.
This is the kind of cabinet that has several vertical horn slats in the upper front of the cabinet with a two door storage cabinet below the horn output in front.
The case is light colored wood and very plain with not scrollwork and wooden knobs.
