Phonoland

Gents,

I recently bought this phonograph. Upon closer examination after picking it up I believe it to be a home-made job. The seller believes it's a Pooley cabinet, but I think it may have been for a radio. Anyone have any ideas?










The motor/ turntable assembly looks like it's from portable to me although I can't say for sure. I think ten inch turntables are pretty rare in cabinet phonographs. The brake is elevated on hex nuts. The winding key seems to have a extender on it. The tonearm seems to short. And as you can see there are extra holes and framework under the motorboard.
If I can confirm it's a genuine "Franken-phone" I plan of rebuilding it with a new motor and possibly a new tone-arm.
So you radio guys-tell me if this looks familiar.

Regards,
J.

Hi Neophone:

I've seen photos of a few cabinets in which the horn's mouth was located at the side, instead of the front, though never anything like this. Normally, a large, fancy cloth covered grille was positioned in front of the horn's mouth.

The cabinet, itself, looks to have been produced during the later part of the 1920s, and the horn seems to be from the Orthophonic era, though it's hard to tell from the photo. (How large is the horn, BTW?)

I'd say, if you want to swap a properly tapered Ortho-era tone arm for the clunky generic one that was installed, along with a good quality reproducer from the later '20s/early '30s equipped with an aluminum diaphragm, go for it. It can't help but improve the sound quality. Make sure you save all components that came with the phonograph, just in case it turns out that they were authentic.

Hi John,
The plot thickens!
It sure is a weird one. I noticed that the edge of the wood to the left of the tone arm hole is a different colour- is it glue or varnish? Is the motor board a replacement, or does it seem to match the rest of the cabinet? The pic of the motor shows a couple extra holes too. Are they the same size, and do they look like they were screw holes for a different motor.
I wonder if it had an electric turntable- that might be a reason for those holes under the motor board-maybe for switches or something Does the hole for the handle look like its original, or a later "home drilled" job?
Very strange- but I still love it!

Boys,
O.K. Let's see if I can address all your points.

The lid appears to have been hinged on the narrow side over the door, the top is broken there and you can see the original screw holes as well as the original base of the lid support still on the long side on the left. So although awkward as far a piece of furniture goes I now believe the horn side is the "front'
The horn mouth is free floating. there doesn't seem to be any place to put a grille of any sort. The horn itself is decorated with a two-tone stained panel, so I'd bet there wasn't a covering. The horn opening measures 19 1/2" X 13 1/2" Joe I agree with you 100% about the age of it, mid to late '20's. Oh a funny thing about the cabinet I haven't mentioned, the sides are different at the top. two sides, the one with the hinge and the one behind the tonearm have a lip while the other two don't! so the deccorative panels on the outside don't line up exactly. Also there is an added frame on the underside of the lid, I'm convinced it is a home-made addition. It holds the copper colored metallic cloth on the underside of the lid in place.
Yes there are extra screw holes in the motorboard Shane, which is thin plywood BTW. I just found a unbelieveable well plugged winding key hole on the opposite side! Which now puts the crank on the wrong side!!!!! (As I thought it was originally when trying to figure out the listing photos! ) Shane that shiny bit inside is a piece of the under frame there that was cut out and varnished over. That whole framework under the motorboard is what puzzels me the most and makes me thing it was a radio, as well as the door in the "back". Batteries? Antenna? There is a large hole in the frame work behind the horn and an even larger one in the bottom. For a plug? I can't find any markings on the cabinet except a "6" in chalk on the bottom and the number "20690" stamped/etched into the wood of the horn support frame. There is no sign of any sort of gasket under the tone-arm.
Joe I will keep all the parts together with the machine along with a letter detailing what I do. "...for the sake of future history, if any...."

This cursed little Odd Duck has my curiosity piqued! I've got to find out all I can about it!

Thanks for all the help guys!

Regards,
J.

So..if the winder should be on the opposite side, does that mean the entire horn has been turned around, and should be enclosed by the door?

Shane,
I don't think so. I think the cabinet itself is as it was built.

Regards,
J.