Phono manufacturer

[Jeff]

I bought this autistic phonograph in 1972 when I was 18.  Immediately, for better or worse, I refinished the cabinet.  If there were markings to identify the brand, they are long gone.  It has a Victrola #2 sound box but no other markings so I always assumed it was a Victor. However, it had a grill and a slide volume control.  Anybody have any idea what this is?  

[Tinfoilphono]

Handsome cabinet, but definitely not a Victor product. It's not uncommon for reproducers to be interchangeable so someone evidently upgraded it with a Victrola reproducer at some point. Sorry I can't help identify the actual maker.

[BenL]

It's definitely not a victor machine, it's a generic off brand from the late teens into early 20s. (It likely originally had a pot metal tonearm that broke over time, being replaced with a victor tonearm/reproducer.) When the major phonograph patents expired everyone jumped in the phonograph market, between 1916-1924 there were over 400 phonograph brands in the US alone. It can be very difficult to identify a off brand without a decal, about the only way is compare cabinet designs to period ads, but that can still be a little bit difficult as multiple brands went to the same cabinet makers. You can occasionally find off-brands identical other than the decal/tag.

Check out the article on off brands by R. J. Wakeman, I scrolled to see if any cabinets matched but non caught my eye:(https://www.antiquephono.org/brand-talking-machines-r-j-wakeman/) 

[Jeff]

Thanks for the info.  I had no idea that there were so many brands of acoustic phonographs.  I’ve had it for almost 50 years and never knew much about it.  I learned more in one day than I did in the previous 49 years. Thank you again.