At 05:38 01/24/02 -0000, you wrote: >These are the items that iam interested in selling.. >Could you help me with some details on the goods, history, origin etc. >are these worth anything and if so who would i contact with regards to >selling them? and the best way to sell them ie auction etc > >APOLOGISE IF YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL > >JPEGS ARE AVAILABLE AT YOUR REQUEST > >MANY THANX > >kriss rolo >tel: >0044 182760393 office (uk) >0044 1216864211 home (uk) >0044 7814294018 mobile (uk) > >return e-mail address [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >UK ONLY VEHICLE REGISTRATION NUMBER N64 CON >NINTENDO 64 CONSOLE > >item 1 > > >hand carved round table with metal chain link in the middle > > > > > >item 2 > >magnum laurent perrier vintage 1988 champagne > > > > > >item 3 > >miniture football on stand from euro96 signed by pele and bobby charlton > > > >item 4 >is a bit more interesting. its a protana minifon attache, as u will see >ive enclosed notes from a web site regarding this and you will see back in >the 50's it cost $340.00 so i could imagine this to be worth a bit. it >also has an original tape inside i do not know what is on this tape, but >judging by who made it and the cost of the machine, the tape could have >some important information on it. heres the note..... > > > >The Minifon, developed in the early 1950s by Monske GMBH of Hanover(or by >Protona GMBH- I'm not certain), was an ultra-miniaturized, battery >operated magnetic recording device. It could not (initially at least) >record the full range of sounds and was thus limited to voice recording, >but it did offer easy portability in a very small package. The idea of >offering a pocket dictating machine was novel, since dictation had >previously been done in the office. However, it was thought that people >like salesmen could take the machine "on the road" with them. Once on the >market, the Minifon's promoters discovered that many people took advantage >of the recorder's small size to make secret recordings to be used as >evidence, as in court.<BR> ><BR> >The "legitimate" use of the Minifon, as a dictating machine, was somewhat >problematical. Recordings made on regular dictating equipment were usually >letters, and thus were normally sent almost immediately to a typist. The >Minifon offered no obvious advantages over standard dictation equipment >for office use, but its developers hoped to cultivate new uses for >dictation equipment, such as stock taking in warehouses, or the use of the >machine as a substitute for note-taking by reporters, insurance adjusters, >salesmen, and others. > >In its original form, the Minifon was a wire recorder, using a type of >wire medium developed by the Armour Research Foundation of Chicago and >employed in many similar devices since the late 1940s. The machine at its >introduction in 1952 had a recording time of one hour, which was >remarkably long, and weighed only about 3 pounds at a time when a typical >office dictating machine weighed upwards of 10 pounds. It accomplished >this small size and light weight in part through the use of miniature >tubes and clever mechanical design. The basic machine cost $289.50-- a >price that sounds high today but was very much in line with competing >office dictating machines. > >The parent company attempted to set up distribution, sales and service >networks in the United States. It established a business office called the >Minifon Export Corp in New York, and an existing company, Harvey Radio in >New York City became the main distributor. Although smaller tape recorders >appeared at about the same time, the main competition in the voice >recording field was from an American company, Mohawk, which made a small, >battery-operated cartridge tape recorder called the Migetape. Both >products sold less than 10,000 units per year in the U.S.<BR> > >After a few years, the Minifon was modified to use transistors and >magnetic tape, further lowering its weight and cost. By 1962 the basic >machine weighed in at only 1.5 pounds. Competition by this time had helped >bring the cost down to $249.50. > >The Minifon after about 1962 was distributed by the international >conglomerate ITT through its subsidiary in the U.S., Federal Electric >Corp. A little later, distribution was taken over by the ITT Distributor >Products Division in Lodi, New Jersey. (I don't know whether these were >the same company with different names) > >By the time ITT became associated with this product, it had taken on the >name of Minifon "Attache," and a new line of models and options appeared. >These included a hi-fi model, the 978H, which sold for $330.50.Usinga >two-track, 1/4 inch tape cartridge operating at 1 7/8 inches per second, >the machine claimed a frequency response of up to 12,000 Hz, plus or minus >3db. >The coming of magnetic tape did not completely displace wire. The Model >240 series of recorders introduced in the early 1960s were probably the >last wire recorders in regular production. The 240L, at a price of $269.50 >used a special long-playing wire cartridge that held 4 hours of wire. >Otherwise it looked like both the tape model and the 240S, which used a >2-hour wire cartridge and sold for $249.50. > >Another innovation was the introduction of more conventional recorders. >After years of offering only "half" of a complete dictation system, >Minifon finally developed a restyled, non-portable "office" machine, >mainly for use by a transcriber, with pedal controls. > >By the mid-1960s, Minifon was trying to market its machines as >multi-purpose devices suitable for nearly any recording need. In addition >to the hi-fi and long-playing machines, the company offered an astounding >variety of optional equipment such as foot controls, microphones, external >amplifiers and loudspeakers, headsets, external power supplies, telephone >recording attachments, conference recording adapters. One of the most >interesting options were the miniature microphones intended to allow users >to make "spy" recordings. In addition to a small tie-clip microphone, the >Minifon could be equipped with a microphone disguised as a wrist- watch. > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >Number of subscribers (updated daily): 217 >To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >
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