Hi Andrew: I can probably help you identify your Zonophone. From the sounds of it, you probably have an early rear mount Grand Opera with the glass window delete. The glass window that would normally be seen on the front mount Grand Opera machine is eliminated so that there is a mounting surface for the rear mount bracket. But aside from that deleted window, the balance of the machine is exactly like a front mount Grand Opera with the fancy metal bedplate with one additional exception. That is that the wood case is rotated 180 degrees so that the crank is on the right (instead of the left like a front mount) and thus the Grand Opera decal is on the opposite side as well....tricky huh..!!
P.S........If you look closely at your bedplate, you will see a threaded hole where the front mount bracket would have screwed into even though yours is a rear mount machine. Regarding the influence on the Zonophone design, this did not come to pass until a few years after Johnson acquired the company (September 1903). During the 1904 Saint Louis Exhibition, the Zonophones were still of the original Zono design. Presumably Johnson was using up remaining stock as any smart business man would. But the 1905 Zono catalogue demonstrates machines that start to reflect the new Victorized look of the Zonophone. If you would send on to me a photo of your machine, I will then be able to tell you for sure what you have. Regards Mark Albertson ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Baron" <a...@popyrus.com> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2006 9:06 AM Subject: [Phono-L] Non-Victor Zonophone with Paneled Horn >> phonost...@aol.com writes: >> >> "Wouldn't it be fun" if each month Phono Friends of the groups picked >> a >> topic for discussion... > > Great idea! > What should it be this month? > > How about something that there just isn't a wealth of published > information about -- Zonophones. > > I'd love to get some opinions, if possible, on the following: About > two years ago, I was the very fortunate recipient of a nicely preserved > (and with provenance) Zonophone Grand Opera (no, not the one with the > glass side panels -- I wish, but not complaining, mind you). This > machine seems to be (I would guess) early in Victor's ownership of the > marque. It has no Victor-like features, the classic deeply embossed > top plate with stylized symmetrical floral patterns, ZON-O-PHONE, > Universal Talking Machine Mfg Co (also engraved in the reproducer), > etc. It has the Universal decal on the side of the case just under the > crank, Grand Opera stencil on the front panel, external stop, large > flat speed knob, and S-shaped crank. The cabinet is also pure > Zonophone, with the finely turned corner posts, etc. The motor is > clearly Zonophone, and owes nothing to Victor, having the oversized > single spring vertical barrel, flat-sided pair of governor weights and > so on. > > What makes me think it's after Victor's acquisition of Zonophone is > that it's a rear mount machine with an 11-panel all-brass horn. I tend > to think of the panel horns as being introduced around 1904 or 1905, > and the published histories of Zonophone seem to put Victor's > acquisition of the company a year or two prior to that. > > I'd love to tap into the Phonolist's knowledge base to learn more about > this machine and it's relationship to the Victor buyout dates and > paneled horn introduction dates. The horn, although panel, retains the > classic Zonophone all-brass construction (including the elbow), and > fits perfectly into the back support. This plus the documented history > (going back only to about 1930) shows that this horn was with this > machine at least as far back as that. It occurred to me that it could > be an earlier machine, made just prior to the Victor buy-out, > originally equipped with the more conventional belled brass horn, and > then changed to a panel horn when it was a couple of years old, but it > seems unlikely that Victor would have gone to the trouble to make an > all brass panel horn to update the old Zonophones. > > Any thoughts on any of the content of this inquiry would be most > sincerely appreciated. > > Andy Baron > Santa Fe, NM > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > Phono-L@oldcrank.org > > Phono-L Archive > http://www.oldcrank.org/pipermail/phono-l/
