The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Since the initial discussion on this was in the Yankee Trader section, I wanted to start a new thread in here, both to let everyone know that I’ve already got 2 manuals that I will be working on (and posting here) soon—a Brunswick Ultona manual that Victor78 graciously provided, and a Victrola № 210 manual that I scanned.

The final products should look a lot like this post and the attached PDF, although to some extent I will attempt to replicate the typesetting of each manual.

As soon as I have a second manual done, there will be an archive thread for these (and the future ones that I plan to OCR), and if anyone would like to contribute a manual, please feel welcome to do so.

Thanks to everyone that has offered to help with this project by providing source material and/or encouraged me to work on it—I couldn’t do it without you guys.

— MordEth

If anyone is interested, I have the following manuals I'm willing to share:

VV 111 (electric)
vv 1-5
vv 215
vv 260
VV VI
VV IX (type G)
VV X (type J)
VV XI (type G)
VV XI-A
VV XIV
and "instructions for the Setting-up, Operation & Care of the Orthophonic Victrola, Spring Motor Type"

and I also have reproductions of the VV-50 and Vic 1...but they're a little on the grainy side.

Zeppy,

I’d be interested in typesetting all of those that you’d like to scan with the exception of the VV XI (type G) manual, as someone else is already providing this manual.

I think that you may want to hold off on the reproductions, unless we do not have another source of them, although if the illustrations are good, they may be worth doing. Since I’m performing OCR on the text, as long as the text is readable, the illustrations (which I would cut out and include in the finished PDF and place inline when posting the text) are really the only concern.

I should be starting on the images that I have tonight when I get some uninterrupted time to work on that, and I’m looking forward to you guys keeping me busy with this project—so far I have 3 manuals to do, and I expect that there will be more.

I have a VV-210 manual that I scanned, and two Brunswick Ultona manuals, and will soon have the VV-XI (Type G) manual; the latter is being e-mailed to me a few pages at a time.

And of course, I’d like to thank everyone who has expressed interest in participating in this once again.

— MordEth

I have two manuals for the Cheney talking machine (slight differences between them) but no scanner. Still, if you like I could mail them.