Randy, Check eBay auction 6603694838.
Your VV 1-2 is a very sought after machine. I think the 1-2 is a knee-jerk reaction to the already poor decision of Victor to produce the 1-1. How on earth they thought they could reinvent the Victrola 4 and be profitable in an age when Orthophonics, Ultraphonics, and radio had swept over the market I don't know. The data book suggests that most of the 1-1s (faux mahogany) were sent overseas, not initially as an export, but to get rid of them. I must suppose that the idea of painting the boxes and slapping some decals on them in the character of Little Wonder (read Merle's work on this) was done with a "toss the ball and see if anybody catches it because time is up" hope that it might be received well as a toy. But it was not, by design, supposed to be a toy and it certainly seems that the lack of vision just made a bad idea worse. But that is how some of us get novel rarities I suppose. Although I would never base a fair market value on eBay alone, the one in eBay auction # 6603694838 that sold for $1136.11 is real. I believe that the bidders are legit (i.e. not someone's "imaginary friends" or shill bidders) A friend of mine had one in much better condition than this and it sold for $725.00 about 2 years ago. I was shocked because he had offered it to me for $300 and I just sort of said...nahhhh thanks I already have one. I have actually observed a few (probably about 4 now in 2 or 3 years) on eBay that have sold for over $700. Although condition does certainly affect the price, you might be pleasantly surprised even if the decals and the old enamel paint have some wear and flaking. I think that Merle has already input to the group about it as well. She did a very nice article about them for MAPS, "In the Groove" a little while back. I have one of the earliest versions and have observed some differences about it compared to the later models. For example, the aluminum tag on the motor board under the turntable in mine does NOT say "VV 1-2" like most machines, but it reads, "Aladdin". The license paper indicates "Victrola 1-2", however. One of these days (probably through this email) I will let Merle know about it because she seems to be the genuine guru. Before my buddy's machine sold for $700 I would have figured a very strong asking price for a very clean model would be about $350 to $375. I still think I would like to hold to that value, but the fact that I have seen several of them exceed $700 makes me just sort of sit back and be quiet. But check out the one that I showed the auction number for (6603694838) and see what you think. It's almost unbelievable. Walt -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 5:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Phono-L] toy talking machine Hello to all: I will soon be selling a little toy, wind-up disc machine that my wife bought almost 30 years ago. It is a cute thing, that is painted an off-white color, and has colorful scenes of children playing on it. I have never paid much attention to it. However, we are trying to downsize our collection of "stuff," and my wife decided this machine could go. I lifted the platter off of the machine, and saw an I. D. tag with the following letters and numbers, V V 1-2 5548. Is this thing an old Victor toy machine? I am an Edison guy, and I know only a little about Victors. If Victor made toy machines, I know nothing about them. Thanks in advance for any information you folks might provide. Randy Minor _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list [email protected] Phono-L Archive http://www.oldcrank.org/pipermail/phono-l/
