Hi Rick and Stephan, We felt the exact same way when we first saw the machine. We almost didn't even bid on it because we were pretty convinced that it was some sort of hand made frankenphone. It is very curious that a wealthy person would choose a slightly lower end machine to put such a fancy finish on. That stumped the expert who contacted us as well, although from what I understand, stranger things have happened. We were also told that the serial number dates the machine to 1910 which was a little late for this type of machine and decoration. All of that certainly adds to the mystery and we are hoping to continue researching to find some more answers.
Once we get the machine in the best possible shape, we are going to submit fresh pictures to get a formal appraisal which will also help authenticate the machine. We are as surprised as can be, trust me! We were days away from stripping this thing down to bare wood. Since we found the painted figures under the top coat, and sent the pics to a few notable people, we are now pretty confident it is real, odd, but real. That is why we decided to make this post to the group. Before we found the decoration, there was still a chance it was just a homemade mess so we kept it to ourselves. The person who contacted us off list is a true expert and once we get permission to do so, we will let you know who the expert is. Since we had never heard of such a thing, we are taking that person's word that it is authentic. There were also a couple other people who confirmed it for us as well once we sent them pictures. To answer your question, we did take the entire machine apart and all the holes appear factory made and line up perfectly. There are no extra holes at all. The joints and the wood all seems perfect. There are no mismatched pieces or out of place seams. It is all definitely old and worn with some damage and typical alligatoring to the surface. All of the hardware has original gold plating from the brake and speed control to the tone arm and horn elbow. The inside of the machine, even under the hinges is all gold leaf. I scratched off a bit of the "new" paint from the front column and the gleaming gold leaf is right under the surface. We found a restorer who told us today that she may be able to save the painted decorations and re-gold leaf the cabinet. We will certainly post here as things progress. We are still searching for more answers so we'll let you know what happens. Thanks again for you interest in our machine. Melissa ________________________________ From: rick <phonofo...@aol.com> To: phono-l@oldcrank.org Sent: Monday, September 9, 2013 4:16 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Mystery Victor III-UPDATE! As a follow up to Stephan, are you sure this is a special order model? Did you remove the back bracket and look at the holes to see if the hoels were straight and to verify if the holes were drilled in a factory or by a hand drill? I would want to be sure that this case was not made by a cabinet maker where only the parts were taken from a Victor III. -----Original Message----- From: Stephan Puille <berli...@msn.com> To: phono-l <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Mon, Sep 9, 2013 3:58 pm Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Mystery Victor III-UPDATE! I am surprised that an ultra wealthy chose a comparatively cheap machine for uch a costly decoration method. The restoration will show if the artistic uality is up to the standard we expect from well executed vernis Martin style. Stephan ______________________________________________ hono-L mailing list ttp://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
