Help finding info and parts!

[Hduncan]

I’m looking for help finding pieces and information on a phonograph. I’m very illiterate when it comes to classic music machines and any help would be greatly appreciated. My friend is looking to get some minor restoration done on a piece that was his late mother’s. The only marking I can find is “Crown Geo. P. Bent”. All research into the name has come up with pianos and not much else. Please help!

[BenL]

In 1922 there was a phonograph recession due in part to an oversaturated market and the rise of early radio. Big companies like Sears and Montgomery Ward cut their cabinet orders, leaving furniture companies like Pooley with an overstock of cabinets. The furniture companies went around the country unloading the cabinets to anyone willing to buy them in large quantities.

Haverty's (The furniture store) and George P. Bent (Piano/Organ maker.) were two of the biggest buyers who bought up the overstock cabinets and rebranded them.  There's even a chance Seras sold to them directly, as most found today are using the same hardware. Sears assembled them, realized they weren't going to sell them individually and dumped them off on Haverty's and Bent.   You'll find that's it's identical to one of the lower range Silertone models other than the variation in grills. 

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by BenL