Phonoland

Good day, I've come across an old phonograph that is pre-1942. I found it in Helena Montana and is claimed to be from the ship USS Arizona and was mailed back to a local man 2 days before she sank in the bombing of pearl harbor. It works with no noticeable malfunctions or odd noised and came with extra pins. I was trying to get some information on it however all i came across was this link http://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_herstell ... ny_id=3402 Any information or where i could go to find out more about it would be of great value. Also a value of the item it's self would be helpful. Thanks,

Dimensions: 17 1/4" x 15 3/4" x 8"

Suggestion,
You might try contacting the USS Arizona Memorial Site in Hawaii. They MAY have some info especially if you can find any "ID numbers" on it- They may also wish to display it in the shore-side section of the memorial--- Ron Rich

I moved your post from the Radios forum to this one, which deals with acoustic/wind-up phonographs and gramophones.

First of all, that's not a Sonora phonograph. Somewhere along the line, someone stuck a Sonora brand sound box (reproducer) from the early to mid-1920s onto the end of the tone arm, probably to replace the original one that was damaged or lost.

The original sound box would be more like this one:



What you have is known as a "mechanical field phonograph." (Do a Google search for that term.) These were made by the Pacific Sound Equipment Company, Hollywood, CA. and were distributed to all branches of the service, along with special "V Discs" that contained popular songs.

Was this one was ever used on-board the USS Arizona? Probably not. Most of these would have been produced after the US entered the war, concurrent with the issuance of the V Discs -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-Disc . There may be a slip with the manufacturer's date and serial affixed to the motor-board, under the turntable, or inside the cabinet near the motor.


Along this line, the phonograph would have been the property of the ship and not one of the crewmembers, so it probably would not have made its way off the USS Arizona--unless, of course, it was stolen.

As for "value," I've seen these sell for as little as $75 (on craigslist) and as much as $400 (on eBay)--depending on condition. Many of these were sold by military surplus stores after the war, and these often turn up in like-new condition today. The one you have is in what I'd call average condition--the case has a bit of corrosion and some paint loss, and it's missing its original sound box.


HTH,
JDS

Thank you so much for the information, I'll look on the inside cabinet for a date or serial.

I've managed to open it up and the only thing inside engraved on the motor is "The General Industries CO. Elyria Ohio USA" then a symbol that loos like a capital C with a capital M and I inside of the C. going to Google them.