Horned Gramophones circa
1890s-1920s
Have you ever
had the gut feeling that your 'PriZed' Gramophone might be too inexpensive to
be real. You're probably right.. Original gramophones are pretty hard to come
by in Singapore nowadays and they're probably priced beyond the 2000 range.
Branded HMV(dog logo) can even go up to 5000. Pardon my language,
Crap-o-phones are pieced-together phonographs made in India and Pakistan for
pennies. They are made out of old abused, cheap portable phonograph parts and
pieced together to make them look like authentic horned phonographs. The octagonal/circular shape of the wooden base is a
dead giveaway. Original Gramophones were almost never made this way.
Secondly, the full brass
horn is a common sign that it is a Indian replica. Nearly
all the 'Bombay Fakes' have brass horns. Genuine brass
horns are actually very rare items as brass was little used after
around 1908 as, in fact, steel sounds better as it resonates less
'metalically' when vibrated. After a century brass is not bright and
shiny but at the very least dull if not verdigris with age.
Only one scarce model of HMV horned machine (the
Model 32 of 1927) bears the 'Dog' trademark picture on its case in a
yellow picture frame. All the Indian copies use a fake transfer derived
from late HMV cabinet gramophones which used this 'framed' image. This alone
tells you that the machine cannot be 'the real thing' as all other genuine
horned HMV's bear the 'dog and gramophone' symbol with minimal background
colour beneath the subjects and no frame whatsoever.
Almost without exception, Indian machines have horn elbows made of two conical sections soldered together. This was never done in the past. An elbow should appear as one continuous curve from machine to horn.
Lastly, all original HMV gramophones have a licence sticker at the bottom. Be it worn out or not, a yellowish piece of worn out paper would certify its authenticity up a notch.
Lastly, all original HMV gramophones have a licence sticker at the bottom. Be it worn out or not, a yellowish piece of worn out paper would certify its authenticity up a notch.
Can you tell
which are FAKES and which are not?