Columbia Europa O/S Horn Disc Graphophone

$

999

Here's a really nice- and super rare- Columbia outside horn disc phonograph for the phonograph collector on your shopping list- or for yourself, if you've been good this year! I learned about these rare and unique little machines from The Old Crank's informative website. Europas were assembled in USA from parts made in Germany- possibly by the Lyric company- and were being imported here just as hostilities broke out at the beginning of World War One. Two versions were made- an outside horn model, and an inside horn model. the outside horn model was a very poor seller, as the outside horn was already "passe" by the outbreak of the war. Maybe a half- dozen of these machines have been seen, all in bad condition- HOWEVER- a really nice one DID pop up here on eBay about a month ago. The neat thing about this one is that it is an obvious variant from what has been considered "the" way the outside horn Europa was offered. First, the cabinet on this particular machine is a dark forest green to match the horn. All other known machines are a dark maroon machine with a forest green horn. Second, all the other known machines have no trademarks, and this one has a small "COLUMBIA RECORDS trade mark made in U.S.A" logo on the bottom front of the metal case. Third, the pressed cardboard "leather" beltline trim is of the design found on the INSIDE HORN models. Finally, this machine has a top mounted lever stop/ speed contol mechanism like a later Grafonola, where all other known examples have the side- mounted push- pull stop/ start knob with the twist speed control like a Disc Graphophone. For these reasons, I feel that this Europa was probably a very late one- perhaps built at the end of the Teens or maybe even as late as 1920. I will confess up front that YES, this machine has had a considerable amount of work done to it to bring it back to its former glory. There's a lot of paint touch up on it, but as you can see by the inside and the bottom in the photographs, the paint is an EXACT MATCH in every way- colour, texture, sheen- and you cannot tell where the original paint is, and where the patches have been repainted. The motor was overhauled, cleaned, and serviced, and a good used mainspring installed. This machine runs whisper- quiet. I fabricated new closed cell foam gaskets for the reproducer. It sounds fantastic, and puts out so much volume that I usually have to keep a rag or a tennis ball in the throat of the horn to avoid waking the neighbours! the felt is an original from another Columbia parts machine with an identical turntable- it's the rare brown rather than green. Now, it's time to let the pictures do the talking. If you have any questions, as always... feel free to ask! And yes, I can GUARANTEE that this is a genuine machine- not a cheap "made in India" "Crap-O-Phone. FED-EX GROUND SHIPPING, WELL-PACKED IN TWO BOXES WILL BE APPROX. $50 IN USA. I SHIP WORLDWIDE!