Re: [ARSCLIST] Prices of early high-quality phonographs

[Clark Johnsen <clarkjohnsen@xxxxxxxxx>]

Peoria! Who knew?

Thanks for the amusing note, and for reminding me how cabinetry used to
count. When my parents went shopping for our first TV in the early Fifties,
no one was looking at the picture or listening to the sound; it was all
about furniture.

clark

On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 10:30 PM, Steven C. Barr
<stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>
>>
>
> The prices of "high-end" players covered high-quality cabinet work over and
> above the playing mechanism; a "phonograph" was as much a piece of
> furniture
> as anything! IIRC, you can look up original prices on several web sites (as
> well
> as in books!) and I think the most expensive Edison machines ran around
> $500?
>
> There were several VERY expensive radio-phonographs sold in the thirties
> and forties...I SHOULD know the makes but they have slipped my mind...!
> I do, however, own an E. H. Scott 800-B radio-phonograph. The player
> part is no great thing...but the output was four 6L6's putting out close
> to 50 watts mono through a 15" coaxial speaker...and this could "rattle
> your tooth fillings" when turned up close to maximum. The radio originally
> belonged to the sherriff of Peoria County, Illinois (and Peoria was NOT
> noted for its honesty in 1947)...and the original price was around $1500
> which was about $300 more than a new Chevrolet sedan listed for!
>
> The cabinet is mahogany veneer on solid mahogany; it weighs about 300
> pounds WITHOUT the "works!"
>
> Steven C. Barr
>