Brunswick panatrope

[rue]

RCA actually built those units for Brunswick -- they were dickering with buying out the Brunswick phono and record operation at the time, but the deal fell thru and they ended up buying out Victor Talking Machine instead. You'll see that same horseshoe-magnet pickup on early Victor Electrolas.

The rubber damper inside that head will probably be hardened with age, and should be replaced for best results -- otherwise it'll wear the records more than it should.

I wonder why it fell through?

Also, I hate to sound stupid, so forgive me, but damper? Head? Those are easily replaced aren't they?

 

[LizzieMaine]

The pickup head is the thing on the end of the tone arm that rides on the record. The damper is a tiny bit of rubber that surrounds the needle chuck and keeps it centered in a tiny coil of wire inside the head. That rubber needs to be soft and springy so that the needle can move freely and smoothly from side to side as it moved thru the record groove.

There are technicians that rebuild these heads for best performance, and if you want to use it regularly it's a good idea to look into that. Here's a series of photos showing how it's done.

 

[Fletch]

Well, like I always say.... the value of an object is in the eye of the beholder and since it's been in my family for just under a hundred years I can't imagine loving it more

It's priceless as history and as part of your family. It's just that most collectors and experts draw a very hard line on what they care about. If they don't, it's impossible to build a collection - which is what most of them care most about - and still have any kind of a life.

 

[rue]

Oh my.... thank you so much Lizzie. I really appreciate you taking the time to look that up for me. I really want to use it quite a bit, so having it in good working order is important. Thank you again.

 

[rue]

It's priceless as history and as part of your family. It's just that most collectors and experts draw a very hard line on what they care about. If they don't, it's impossible to build a collection - which is what most of them care most about - and still have any kind of a life.

I see what you're saying Fletch. I appreciate your input too. Like a few people here, I'm not a collector as much as a lifestyle person and family history keeper, but I know all too well how you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[vitanola]

Your machine was fitted with a couple of (slightly) different amplifiers. 1926 models would be fitted with the eariler unit, 1927 machines with the later one with the hum balancer and the angled stove pipe stack over the ballast tube.

The P-11 was exhibited to the public in September of 1925' but few if any were shipped before the summer of '26. A fair number of machines labeled P-3 have turned up which appear to date to late 1925 and early 1926, but these are all housed in left over 1924 model radio-phonograph combination cabinets, some of which appear to have been converted into Panatropes AFTER thethe earlier equipment was removed. I've one P-3 " Stratford" in the barn which has the power swich installed in the place of the winding key, and a Model T (the Tudor console) Panatrope that I scrapped a few years ago sported a fixed lid on the left-hand side which was finished on its underside, and bore a "Brunswick Radiola " decal.

 

[martinsantos]

Just wonderful!!

 

[MissMittens]

Most got re-purposed or trashed, making it quite rare. I've seen them in auction catalogs from time to time starting bids around $250 but don't know what they actually go for. I would keep it, recondition it electrically, and pass it on to your next generation

I love the simplicity of my Victrola.....easy to rebuild, and gives me something to listen to when the power is out

 

[Fletch]

Collectors Weekly interviews Paul Edie, a Victor specialist collector, who betrays some insights into the hobby culture.

Most people with phonographs will just go get a handful of whatever records they can find to play. Don’t forget, those records were made in the hundreds of millions.
[...] Phonograph collectors like the beauty and rarity of the phonograph. They’re not necessarily music lovers, whereas the record collectors tend to be music lovers. The phonograph guys are in it for the wood and the beauty and the rarity of a certain finish. I’m a little of both, but I just don’t have the time to get into the record hobby.
[...] In 1925, the electric playback came into popularity, but it was too expensive for a lot of people. But they still made horn-type machines, which had become so advanced that it sounds like an FM radio. They’re really good and people are amazed there’s no electronics in them.

- Records are records; music is music. Rare records? Rare music? Wha?
- The late acoustic machines probably sound better than the early electrics, deepening the mystique.
- Paul's own website, The Victor-Victrola Page, discusses only acoustic machines, but doesn't say so.

 

[Berlin]

I am rather envious, Rue, on that panatrope.

 

[MissMittens]

For those interested, there is a "rare" music selection online at the Johnson Victrola Museum (1/2 mile from where I work)

http://history.delaware.gov/museums/jvm/audio/music.shtml

And here is a 360 walk-through of parts of the museum

http://history.delaware.gov/museums/jvm/jvpanaqt.shtml

 

[rue]

Your machine was fitted with a couple of (slightly) different amplifiers. 1926 models would be fitted with the eariler unit, 1927 machines with the later one with the hum balancer and the angled stove pipe stack over the ballast tube.

The P-11 was exhibited to the public in September of 1925' but few if any were shipped before the summer of '26. A fair number of machines labeled P-3 have turned up which appear to date to late 1925 and early 1926, but these are all housed in left over 1924 model radio-phonograph combination cabinets, some of which appear to have been converted into Panatropes AFTER thethe earlier equipment was removed. I've one P-3 " Stratford" in the barn which has the power swich installed in the place of the winding key, and a Model T (the Tudor console) Panatrope that I scrapped a few years ago sported a fixed lid on the left-hand side which was finished on its underside, and bore a "Brunswick Radiola " decal.

So, what date would you put on this one?
Thank you for the information

 

[rue]

Just wonderful!!

Thank you Martin

Most got re-purposed or trashed, making it quite rare. I've seen them in auction catalogs from time to time starting bids around $250 but don't know what they actually go for. I would keep it, recondition it electrically, and pass it on to your next generation

I love the simplicity of my Victrola.....easy to rebuild, and gives me something to listen to when the power is out

You couldn't pry it out of my cold dead hands, so no worries

 

[rue]

Collectors Weekly interviews Paul Edie, a Victor specialist collector, who betrays some insights into the hobby culture.

- Records are records; music is music. Rare records? Rare music? Wha?
- The late acoustic machines probably sound better than the early electrics, deepening the mystique.
- Paul's own website, The Victor-Victrola Page, discusses only acoustic machines, but doesn't say so.

If I'm going to have a machine that plays records I'm going to buy records for it. How odd that someone wouldn't use the machine for it's intended purpose [huh]

I am rather envious, Rue, on that panatrope.

Thank you Berlin

 

[rue]

I don't know how to put this without sounding silly, but thank you all so much for looking at this beautiful piece that's a part of my family history and giving me information on it. People tend to look at my heirlooms and think they're nice, but if I get into the history of them their eyes glaze over, so it's nice to be able to 'chat' with people that care. Thank you

 

[jamespowers]

I don't know how to put this without sounding silly, but thank you all so much for looking at this beautiful piece that's a part of my family history and giving me information on it. People tend to look at my heirlooms and think they're nice, but if I get into the history of them their eyes glaze over, so it's nice to be able to 'chat' with people that care. Thank you

In the Lounge, eyes don't glaze over.

 

[rue]

In the Lounge, eyes don't glaze over.

That's one of the reasons I love it here so much

 

[MissMittens]

In the Lounge, eyes don't glaze over.

Well, except maybe the "What did you drink last night?" thread - plenty of glazed eyes in there

 

[MissMittens]

That's one of the reasons I love it here so much

Alright, Rue.....

Are you and BD in a competition for "most avatar changes in the shortest time"? LOL

 

[rue]

Alright, Rue.....

Are you and BD in a competition for "most avatar changes in the shortest time"? LOL

lol No, she gets bored with hers whereas I can't seem to find one I like. When I do I'll keep it