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Thank you, Rene!

That is such a great story! And the Victor III isn't exactly an eyesore either!!! Thanks for sharing - I especially like the part when it makes it's way through the flood in a garbage bag! A lot of our machines have probably been through very dramatic circumstances - rarely do the stories along their way stick with them! I too remember the strong feelings evoked at the sight of a gramophone at that age!!! I was fortunate enough to sell a very splendid Victor VV-XVIII ( an unusual beast in Europe) to a 12-year old boy who came and bought it along with his supportive parents, for 200$, this was only 2 years ago! His eyes shone!!

Slotted, but it falls off routinely!

My Col. AA came with a reproduction, fall-off crank, (with the spiralled/helical drive slots). The original crank that I located & use is a slotted crank, not a fall-off style, with straight drive slots. Which style is considered correct?

The motor for this toy will be a very hard part to find. You never know where one can turn up. Are the figures original?

Mary, Yes, the reproducer & turntable appear to be correct. However, as you mentioned in your PM, the motors do not. Hopefully, the other small bits will be correct as well.

Actually, I did finally post a listing on uShip. I have used them in the past with decent results. We'll see how it goes.... Fingers crossed. Thanks!

Thanks Mary. Was the lid restored? Can you tell if your cardboard figures are original? There is a hinge in one of your photos on the left side, but can't figure out what that's for. I;m not talking about the hinge for the horn. Would love to see more photos of the rest of the wagon and as Jerry requested, the box of parts. I do see you have the long piece of wood that connects to the start/start lever in the front of the wagon. From what I see, you may be missing the steering wheel as well.

Show us the box of parts. It will help us figure out what you're missing... if anything.

I figured out how to add pictures. this is what I have, along with a box of parts.

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Hi Mary I have a complete circus wagon in which I took pictures for you. I hope the photos help with what you need. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. These really are great toys. Here is a video I made several years ago of it working. Scott

Post some pictures of what you've got.

Thanks for the great comments!

Rene, your acquisition story may be more mundane, but the prices (even for 1962) and appearance of that horn are eye-opening. The decoration of your beautiful horn looks like Tea Tray Company work.

I have a Model C with the same pully configuration, s/n 312936C, although not as mint as Jerry's.

That's a wonderful machine. I wouldn't dream of changing the mandrel. We all have plenty of machines capable of playing 2-minute cylinders. This Gem's history as an ICS-dedicated phonograph is just one thing that makes it very special. Plus, of course, its condition. This is something to treasure and only demonstrate with ICS records. What a stunning and historic phonograph!

Wow. That's a really great story, George! It's incredible that you had a second chance to get the very same machine you had lusted after in your earliest collecting career. I truly feel your pain at having missed it the first time. Been there, done that. My Victor III story is infinitely more mundane. In the summer of 1962 my mother drove me (I was 13) to visit a collector/dealer in Greenfield, MA. He had a mind-boggling collection, with machines stuffed everywhere. I don't remember the details, but somehow I left with a very nice Victor III that cost me all of $8. It had a typical black Victor horn. It was a very welcome addition to my then-small collection. In December of 1962 my father came across a blue morning glory Victor accessory horn in a local antique shop for $1. My parents gave it to me for Christmas, and I immediately put it on the Victor III. I absolutely loved that upgrade. I still have it today, and I take pleasure in the fact that it has become the APS 'mascot,' used on the website and in all sorts of mailings. It really is pretty, and it attracts far more attention among non-collectors than any other machine I have ever owned. Sometimes beauty trumps rarity.

Patrick, I'd be happy to add your Amberola 30 to my list! Would you be willing to share some photos of it? I've been keeping a file of images for each of the machines in my study so I can always refer back to them. I show the movement of the ID plate from the cabinet interior to the rear bedplate occurring somewhere between 56000 and 60000. It moved from the bedplate to the lid between 140773 and 141475. Most sellers of the earlier 30s probably don't know to look in the cabinet for that data plate (or it's poorly photographed) so I have less data on the earlier machines than I do the later ones. I'm recording all the data you mention, with the exception of the ratchet sounding crank. I know that's a feature of the earliest machines, but since I've built my data on old sales listing photos, I haven't been able to ask about that yet, but definitely will note it when I officially start a survey. I can't say I've noticed any other unique features on the earliest machines, but my sample size for them is also quite small. I'd love to get an early 30 myself someday. The only example I own is 226177, in the late style simplified cabinet. The data I've been collecting so far for the Amberola 30 is: Data plate style (Black japanned vs. Brass) Data plate location Pinstripes (Full striping, Edison decal only or none) External Speed control (yes or no) Reproducer set screws (one or two) Reproducer type and finish (Diamond C in nickel or black or Model H) Mandrel shape (flat end or rounded 'bullet' end) Horn guide shape (V-notch, loop or post) Lid support (one or two screw) Motor board screws (flush mounted on the earliest machines or rounded on later) Mandrel (The dull grey end of the mandrel is nickel on some of the last 30s) Cabinet style (I've noted 4 distinct cabinet styles) and cabinet factory number (when possible) I've been collecting the same information for the Amberola 50 and 75, though those models retained the same cabinet style for their production lifetimes (for the most part, the 50 has some special exceptions I plan to post about later).

MODEL: Victor III SERIAL #:13406A YEARS MADE: 1909-1913 COST: $40.00 CASE/CABINET SIZE: 14 1/8" x 14 1/8" x 7 5/16" TURNTABLE: 10" SOUND BOX: Exhibition MOTOR: 2 mainspring HORN DIMENSIONS: No. 31 22" diameter REPRODUCTION PARTS: None CURRENT VALUE: ? INTERESTING FACTS : It seems to me that a “Featured Phonograph” may be a rarity (such as Rene’s beautiful one-of-a-kind Tinfoil machine), a classic which made a significant impact on the early industry, a machine which has descended to its current owner through the family, a common machine with an unusual feature, or any other combination of attributes which might make an instrument appealing. I’ll share one now simply because of the unlikely path it took to my collection. It was the fall of 1970, I was 16 years old, and the Kiwanis Club in my hometown was holding its semi-annual Antique Show in the Armory. I’d been going to these shows for 2 or 3 years; sometimes with my mom, other times with a pal who liked old clocks. This time I was alone, driving with my newly-earned license. The ceiling of the Armory vaulted 30 or 40 feet overhead, allowing gentle sunlight to pass through large glass block windows, and dissipating the crowd noise overhead. I always enjoyed the ambiance of the Armory, and the ~100 dealer booths always held a surprise or two. That morning, I rounded a corner and there it was: the most beautiful talking machine I’d ever seen. Over the past 56 years I remember it as the first wooden phonograph horn I ever encountered. I’m not sure I even knew such horns existed at that point (I’d been collecting for only 3 years). In any event, I was gobsmacked. The dissipated sunlight bathed the machine (an oak Victor) in a golden glow, and my heart was beating a turkey-trot. I had no idea what I was looking at; all I knew in that moment was that I must have this precious artifact. The price tag read $225.00. For a kid who was mowing lawns on weekends and bagging groceries 2 nights a week, it was a fortune. The dealer asked me if I had any questions. I asked if he would accept a combination of cash and trades. At that time I had $50.00-$75.00, an Edison Standard Model B with a flower horn, a small Aeolian-Vocalion, and a Victrola XI I would be willing to trade… My recollection suggests that the dealer was kind, but he wasn’t interested in trading. I did a quick circuit of the show, but I was preoccupied with the vision I had just witnessed. I left the show, jumped in the car, and drove home with the intent to ask my long-suffering father for a loan. Once home, mom reminded me that dad had gone out of town for the day. Mom did nothing with household finances, so I was out of luck. With a heavy heart I returned to the show for no other reason than to gape at the impossible dream. That too would be denied me – the beautiful oak Victor was gone. Two salient points remained with me: the fluted oak corner columns and the spear points on the horn. As the years passed, I learned more, and eventually realized that the machine had been either a Victor II or III, but the spear point horn (a No.31 oak horn) strongly suggested a Victor III. I began attending shows at Union, Illinois and various New Jersey venues in 1980. I saw dozens and dozens of Victor IIIs and No.31 horns over the decades, and occasionally wondered, “Was that you?” Thirty one years after that heartbreaking morning at the Kiwanis Antique Show, I was at work when a colleague (Rich) stopped me. “Hey – I heard that you collect those old phonographs?” I replied that I did. Rich asked, “What would one of those old Victors with a wooden horn be worth?” I smiled and said that it would depend upon the model and of course condition. Rich responded, “Oh, it’s it great condition – I’ve owned it for 30 years.” Suddenly, the dots seemed to be connecting… I asked Rich where he had bought his Victor. “The Kiwanis Antique Show.” A day or two later I drove to Rich’s home and saw the same Victor III that had so entranced me as a teenager. Admittedly, I wasn’t bowled over as I was at age 16. But this time I was able to bring it home. In June 1972, Rich (at left below) had to evacuate his home following the arrival of hurricane Agnes. Below, you can see the wooden horn wrapped in a garbage bag as it's being floated out of harm's way.

I just purchased a Belknap Toy Circus Wagon. It has no working parts inside. I have a box of parts, and some might not be from this machine. I was hoping someone had a working Belknap wagon that could send me pictures of the inside works so I could figure out if I can get it running.

Jerry, Aside from the interesting (and undoubtedly scarce) ICS pulley on that mandrel, the beautiful condition of that Gem makes it a real standout! So that's what they looked like when they left the factory...

Since the serial number falls outside of the range mentioned by George P. in his excellent Gem article published in the June, 2023, edition of "The Antique Phonograph", I assume it may be made as late as 1910, a possibility that George goes on to state in that same article. I'll also note that this example is in pristine condition, leading me to believe that any intended lessons "taught" by this machine did not get very far. Sort of like most treadmills and excercise bikes...

MODEL: GEM, Model C SERIAL #: 309841C YEARS MADE: COST: CASE/CABINET SIZE: TURNTABLE: REPRODUCER: Model C MOTOR: HORN DIMENSIONS: 10" Cone REPRODUCTION PARTS: None CURRENT VALUE: INTERESTING FACTS : Although in many ways just another Model C Gem, except this one was sold as an ICS, (International Correspondence School), machine. To condense the lesson given by a particular cylinder, the playback speed was reduced. Notice the large mandrel pulley meant to change the ratio and therefore the rotational speed of the cylinder. I do not know, however, what the new playback time would be. Three minutes? Four minutes? It also means that standard cylinders will not play at their correct speed. This machine could easily be converted to standard playback by simply swapping out the mandrel with a "normal" one. However, I did not want to change the special nature of this machine. I think it's probably fairly rare as it is, but perhaps not especially valuable.