aluminum name plate. So, it appears that, somewhere between mine and the
one for auction, Victor changed name plates.
At present, I'm getting my Victor Electrola 12-25 put together, checking
everything carefully before I put power to the amplifier. I did the Go-Jo
treatment to the cabinet. The finish on it is a mirror. I've never seen a
cabinet that old, in that perfect shape. I'm anxious to have it going. I
also have a 12-15 Electrola, and it's dynamite.
> [Original Message]
> From: Andrew Baron <a...@popyrus.com>
> To: Antique Phonograph List <phono-l@oldcrank.org>
> Date: 10/21/2009 10:04:42 AM
> Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Never thought it would happen to me
>
> Thanks, Douglas. Needless to say, the novelty of seeing this visitor
> in my music room hasn't begun to lose its luster, and the XVIII will
> soon regain its.
>
> I thought of Go-Jo as well, at least as a first step. The black
> residue is dense here and there, but it must also be darkening the
> finish even where it doesn't appear to be built up to opaqueness.
>
> Andy
>
>
> On Oct 20, 2009, at 4:46 PM, Douglas Houston wrote:
>
> > I've had my VV-XVIII for about 25 years. It took a moment to
> > realize just
> > what I was looking at, but $120.00 was a reasonable price,
> > regardless of
> > condition. Everything was there, except the storage albums. One
> > spring was
> > broken at the outer end, and was quicly repaired. A going over with
> > Go-Jo
> > made it clean as new. I know just how you feel, Andy!
> >
> >
> >> [Original Message]
> >> From: Mobility Scooters <mobilityscoot...@xtra.co.nz>
> >> To: Antique Phonograph List <phono-l@oldcrank.org>
> >> Date: 10/21/2009 1:26:44 AM
> >> Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Never thought it would happen to me
> >>
> >> Andy
> >> Great story!
> >> Well done that is just fantastic and to think of how many people
> >> must of
> >> seen it before you did in the afternoon.
> >> I would say it was waiting for you.
> >> There will be no stopping you going shopping with your wife for the
> >> rest
> > of
> >> your life. ha ha
> >> All the very best
> >> Tony
> >>
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org
[mailto:phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org
> >> ]On
> >> Behalf Of Ken and Brenda Brekke
> >> Sent: Tuesday, 20 October 2009 12:57 p.m.
> >> To: 'Antique Phonograph List'
> >> Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Never thought it would happen to me
> >>
> >> Congrats!!!! Any chance of posting pictures???
> >> Ken B.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org
[mailto:phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org
> >> ]
> > On
> >> Behalf Of Andrew Baron
> >> Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 6:46 PM
> >> To: Antique Phonograph List
> >> Subject: [Phono-L] Never thought it would happen to me
> >>
> >> From time to time, I've derived vicarious pleasure from reading of
> >> some
> > of
> >> the phono-L members' coincidental discovery and acquisition of a
> >> particularly sought-after or scarce phonograph.
> >>
> >> In general, most of the membership are in areas that are either more
> >> populated, or nearer to denser metropolitan areas than here in
> >> Santa Fe,
> > NM.
> >> Roll back the calendar a few decades, and my region is pretty
> >> sparsely
> >> populated, with more ranching than any kind of manufacturing or
> >> other work
> >> that would draw a larger population.
> >>
> >> Fewer people = fewer manufactured goods, including phonographs.
> >> Add to
> > this
> >> the budget for a machine that most New Mexicans had (or prioritized
> >> for
> >> music) a century or so ago, and you have relatively few phonographs
> >> to
> > begin
> >> with, and most of those in the low-to-middle cost range. Edison
> > Standards,
> >> Victrola IV's, X's and XI's, and low- end Columbias are inevitably
> >> the
> >> models that turn up, and usually in none too good a condition if
> >> not out
> > of
> >> a collection. Naturally some desirable machines were brought here
> >> later
> > on,
> >> but by and large this hasn't amounted to anything significant, and
> >> there
> >> isn't much of a collecting community here.
> >>
> >> So opportunities to build a collection are rather limited. That
> >> being
> > said,
> >> I started collecting in 1974, when I was 12, and my Victor 8-30X,
> >> Edison
> >> maroon Gem, Edison early A-250 and a Zonophone Grand
> >> Opera were all acquired here in Santa Fe, current population 72,000.
> >> Not exactly a small town, but outside of Albuquerque, we are
> > geographically
> >> isolated from the big population centers. The Zonophone was
> >> brought here
> >> from New England in the '70s, when its past owner moved here.
> >>
> >> To the subject at hand:
> >> Two days ago, a big local consignment shop was having their annual
> >> Fall
> >> sale; everything 30% off. This event draws what seems like half of
> >> Santa
> >> Fe, and while my wife and I usually attend it, we generally wait
> >> until
> > late
> >> in the day to avoid the pressing crowds. Anyway, most of what the
> >> shop
> >> sells is vintage furniture, rugs, artwork, etc., some of it quite
> >> nice,
> > but
> >> rarely anything of particular interest to a phonograph collector,
> >> so no
> >> penalty for arriving when convenient.
> >>
> >> We had been browsing around for about a quarter of an hour when the
> >> proprietor let me know that there were "a couple of Victrolas" in
> >> the next
> >> room. We continued looking around in the part of the store where we
> >> currently were, and after about ten minutes more, I finally said
> >> that I'd
> >> like to take a look and see what the phonographs were. We headed
> >> casually
> >> across the distance, through the crowds of people and things toward
> >> the
> > next
> >> room. No sooner had I uttered the words "These machines are going
> >> to be
> >> examples of the most common models, and probably overpriced", than
> >> I could
> >> see the unmistakable silhouette of Victor XVII or XVIII, just
> >> sticking out
> >> beyond the wall separating the rooms.
> >>
> >> Quickening my pace (they were still 20 feet away), I prepared my
> >> mind to
> > see
> >> a Victor XVII, the alternative possibility being somewhat beyond my
> >> powers
> >> of imagination. Still, a Victor XVII would be a great find
> >> although I
> >> already own one (courtesy of a very kind tip from a thoughtful
> >> phono-L
> >> member, $200, and a 125 mile round-trip to Albuquerque).
> >>
> >> Coming up alongside the curvy machine, I noticed first that the top
> >> curl
> > of
> >> the rear corner post was mostly missing -- a clean break from
> >> bashing the
> >> machine into a wall or truck bed, no doubt. I also noticed the
> >> fine,
> >> expressive trim on the cabinet side and the chevron- shaped veneer
> >> pattern
> >> and practically leapt the last couple of feet so I could see the
> >> front of
> >> the machine, which left no doubt.
> >>
> >> There's something unbelievable about finding a top-end machine in
> >> New
> >> Mexico, and even though I have the XVII, and was already well aware
> >> of the
> >> differences, I had to see the VV-XVIII on the ID plate with my own
> >> eyes.
> >> The 3-digit serial number was also a strange thing to behold on a
> >> New
> > Mexico
> >> Victrola. This was a dirty, dusty machine, with some of its edges
> >> and
> > trim
> >> scraped up from careless handling, but at a glance, in generally
> >> good and
> >> very solid shape except for a few scrapes and that broken-off upper
> >> rear
> >> corner piece. Definitely not something out of someone's phonograph
> >> collection, and just as you like to find them
> >> -- clearly untouched for decades.
> >>
> >> A quick appraisal of what it had to offer revealed:
> >> Original gold V key;
> >> Gold needle cup, all original casters, all correct knobs, front and
> >> back;
> >> Large, gold crank escutcheon detached and screws missing, but still
> > sitting
> >> on the crank about a half-inch out from the side of the cabinet;
> >> Near
> >> perfect felt on the platter; Almost certainly the original gold
> >> Exhibition
> >> soundbox, Ser. #87347B, never rebuilt; Very, very dirty under the
> >> lid and
> > in
> >> general (what is this greasy, black stuff?); Most of the record
> >> storage
> > area
> >> filled with (non-Victor) matched albums full of classical records,
> >> and
> >> otherwise stuffed to the gills with sheet music; Missing the lower
> >> key
> >> escutcheon and motor lift knob (and that maddeningly absent corner
> >> curl).
> >>
> >> Price, $650, minus 30%.
> >>
> >> Sold!
> >>
> >> It's home now, and I'm having fun cleaning it up and getting more
> > intimately
> >> familiar with its exquisite details, and learning why this model is
> >> so
> >> prized. It's going to be quite nice, ultimately, with a respectable
> >> original finish, after a many hours of carefully applied elbow
> >> grease and
> >> the appropriate preparations. The fancy work and doors on the back
> >> with
> >> their gold-plated hardware, concealing a nice compartment came as a
> > complete
> >> surprise. You never see this view in the books. The motor is
> >> relatively
> >> clean (very little of the usual greasy build-up, just a yellowed
> >> film of
> > old
> >> hard residue). A couple drops of oil in all the pertinent places,
> >> and a
> >> light coat of fresh
> >> grease on the governor worm, and it runs very quietly and evenly.
> >> Even the speed indicator works. The main springs thud something
> >> awful
> > when
> >> winding down though, so I'll treat the motor to a proper tear- down
> >> and
> >> rebuild when I attend to those noisy springs.
> >>
> >> Comparing the total production of the spring-motor XVIII to the
> >> number of
> >> Victrolas produced puts it at something like 0.0004 of the total
> >> 1906 - 1929 production, and .0009 of the 1906-1920 production total
> >> (Roman
> >> numeral model-number era). This equates to less than one-tenth of
> >> one
> >> percent of the total production of the early Victrola era, and less
> >> than
> >> half of that when considering the total Victrola era, if I did my
> >> math
> >> right.
> >>
> >> Finally (for those who've had the patience to read this far), the
> >> gold-
> >> plated motor lift knob was found in the needle cup, and the broken-
> >> off
> >> upper-rear corner was found otherwise undamaged, in a recess of the
> > cabinet.
> >> It proved a seamless fit to the fracture surface. Anyone got a key
> >> escutcheon?
> >>
> >> I hope you've enjoyed this story, still fresh from the event and
> > accurately
> >> conveyed, and I wish similarly exciting phonograph discoveries for
> >> those
> > of
> >> you who have not yet had the pleasure.
> >>
> >> Kindest regards,
> >> Andy Baron
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
> >>
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> >>
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> >
> >
> >
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