Victor Rigid-Arm Monarch

[NateO]

I attended the spring Wayne show last week, and for the first time in 3 years added a new machine to my collection. I thought I'd take a few decent photos of it and share them here. Funny thing is, I went to the show looking for a Graphophone, and instead came home with this. I'm certainly not disappointed- I never dreamed I'd be able to own a rigid-arm Victor.  Going off the information in Baumbach's Victor Data Book, the lowest serial number for a rigid-arm Monarch is 12,697. At serial number 13,012, this one seems to be a fairly early rigid-arm. 

 

Having pricked myself changing the needle on my Victor Royal on more than one occasion, I can easily see why the new rigid-arm was such a momentous advancement.  Not to mention the amount of wear this must have saved on the records being played! Still, now that I have actually heard a rigid-arm machine being played, I can see why the design was so short lived. While the rigid-arm was a major milestone for the industry, Victor's taper arm design was a massive improvement.

[NateO]

Since I had the Monarch out for some photos, I thought I'd also pull out my Victor III, and shoot a few comparison photos, since the Monarch would evolve into the III. The III features a far larger horn, larger and heavier cabinet, and better/quieter motor than the Monarch. 

 

I've never been able to figure out exactly when this III was built. It doesn't really match anything in the Victor Data Book. It obviously has a better motor than the Monarch, but this particular III still uses a slotted crank as opposed to a later screw on style. I've always assumed this III dated to about 1904, but I'd love to hear what others might think.

 

I don't know if my Victor III is in the same serial number sequence as the Monarch, or if the III was made after Victor reset the serial numbers for this model. If they are part of the same sequence of numbers, these machines are only 3,935 units apart. 

[phonogfp]

Congratulations, Nate, on acquiring an historically significant machine in such nice condition! 

 

I have only a couple of original advertisements for Victor's rigid-arm machines, and they use the same illustration and copy.  Here's one from the November 1902 issue of Everybody's Magazine:

 

Some collectors have searched for a Victor horn showing the odd reversed trademark image shown in this advertisement.  I'm convinced it was merely artistic license.

 

I have a poor-quality reprint of a later 1902 Victor catalog that I bought from Tom Pollard in the mid-1970s.  Here are the pages that show your rigid-arm Monarch (Victor III):

 

 

 

The Victor Taper Arm was introduced in April 1903, so the rigid-arm machines are relatively easy to date.  I suspect your early Victor III made someone's Christmas 1902 a happy one.

 

Congratulations again - -

 

George P.

[Fran604g]

Your 2 Victors side by side are certainly nice to see, Nate. Well done, sir!

 

Fran

[NateO]

Thank you both!

 

George, thanks for sharing the ad and catalog. I've always loved Victor's ads, and the text on this one is great. It's also certainly not wrong, as primitive as they are, these rigid arms are a great leap forward!

[CurtA]

I love your machine.  A rigid arm "M" was the first Victor machine I owned.  It had a damaged elbow and took thirteen years to find a perfect one... wish I still had it.  Later, I found a pre-dog front mount "M", which I still have...