RARE ANTIQUE (1931-1939) COLUMBIA NO 55 VIVA-TONAL GRAFONOLA COMPLETE AND WORKING

A WONDERFUL OLD COLUMBIA NO 55 VIVA-TONAL GRAFONOLA. MADE IN KAWASAKI IN JAPAN CIRCA 1931 1939. RARE COMPLETE AND IN WORKING CONDITION.
 
COMES WITH THREE 78RPM RECORDS ONE A MASTERS VOICE, ONE A COLUMBIA AT THE BALALAIKA RECORD FROM 1939 AND ONE A GALLATONE AFRIKAANSE PLAAT FROM 1951. A PACKET OF AROUND 50 BRAND NEW NEEDLES ARE INCLUDED WITH OTHERS IN THE SWING-LID POT BUILT IN TO THE FRONT LEFT OF THE DECK - A FEATURE I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, WHICH IS A SECOND POT BENEATH FOR DISCARDING YOUR USED NEEDLES INTO.
 
HAS THE ORIGINAL COLUMBIA CRANK HANDLE THAT STILL CRANKS SMOOTHLY. SOUND BOX IN TACT. MOTOR TURNING AND STILL PLAY THE 78RPM RECORDS. AT TIMES SOUND SLOWS DOWN BUT OTHER TIMES PLAY NICELY.
 
The Grafonola differs from a Gramophone in that this amplifies the music with just the 'sound box' which is the round piece to which the needle is attached, rather than requiring a large exterior horn to be heard. It is more compact and easier to transport and the volume and quality of sound is loud enough.

The amazingly impressive fact about these gramophones is that they work entirely without a power source. The manual wind up lever which is inserted in the hole to the right of the deck are wound to power the spinning turntable. About 20-30 revolutions of the handle should be enough, from its fully unwound state to play a whole side. The sound is transmitted acoustically via the needle, through the 'soundbox' angled, as it should be at around 60° which is connected to the tone arm.

In case you are unfamiliar with 78s, these types of record preceded vinyl. They are usually made of shellac and are much stiffer and more brittle than vinyl records. They are smaller too, and run at around 78rpm as opposed to 33 or 45 with vinyl. Please note trying to play vinyl on any gramophone will destroy your records. The needles are made of soft steel and they should ideally be changed every side of a record due to degrading sound quality.
 
The lever to the front right is to adjust speed to fit with your dancing ability. It is 78rpm in the central position and can go a bit slower or faster. With an auto stop lever to the back right of the turntable which is pushed once the needle reaches the end of the record and the turntable stops spinning.
  
CONSIDERING ITS NEARING A CENTURY OF AGE OVERALL IT LOOKS FANTASTIC AND WORKS WELL.
 
MARKINGS:
COLUMBIA VIVA-TONAL GRAFONOLA NO 55
MADE IN KAWASAKI FOR COLUMBIA GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY LONDON ENGLAND
 
SIZES
28CM WIDE 38CM DEEP
CONDITION: RESTING BRACKET FOR TOP LID LOOSE. THE CASE IS IN GOOD CONDITION AND THE LATCH WORKS SMOOTHLY. THE KEY TO LOCK IT UP IS NO LONGER PRESENT. THE BLUE FELT PAD TO THE DECK IS IN GOOD CONDITION AND THE MECHANICS ARE WORKING WELL. COMES WITH 3 78RPM RECORDS AND LOTS OF EXTRA NEEDLES.
 
COLUMBIA:
The Columbia Grafonola was originally an American phonograph made by the Columbia Graphophone Company. Edmond Easton (1865-1915), founded the Columbia Phonograph Company on January 15, 1889.  Its name came from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered.
Columbia began selling disc records and phonographs in 1901. Introduced in 1907, Grafonolas are internal horn alternatives to the same company's external horn Disc Graphophones.
In 1906, the Victor His Masters Voice Company, Columbia's arch competitor, introduced a line of models in which the horn and other hardware were concealed within a cabinet made to look like fine furniture rather than a mechanical device. They named the new style a "Victrola". It quickly proved to be very popular and successful. Other makers, adopting the distinctive suffix, introduced their own "-ola" internal horn machines, such as Columbia's Grafonolas.
At first, like nearly all other early record players, all Grafonolas were driven by a spring motor that the user had to wind up with a crank before playing a record or two. Two models were available: a portable table model and bigger stationary floor model.
In late 1922, Columbia Records declared bankruptcy.  Columbia in the United States emerged from receivership in February 1924 as the Columbia Phonograph Company, Inc.  Englands British Entrepreneur Luis Sterlings Columbia Graphophone Company purchased Columbia Records in 1925.
COLUMBIA PORTABLE GRAMOPHONES WERE MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM 1924 TO 1940. COLUMBIA GRAMAPHONES AND GRAFONOLAS WERE ALSO MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN FROM 1931 TO 1939 AND AGAIN AFTER THE WAR FROM 1946 TO THE LATE 1950S.
The Nippon Phonograph Co. from Kawasaki in Japan was established in 1910. In 1931 they adopted the Columbia brand name and started production of Columbia gramophones for the Columbia Graphophone Company in England. They even raised a neon sign of the Columbia logo, the largest neon sign at the time in Asia, on top of the roof of their Kawasaki factory. In 1946 after the war they changed their company name to Nippon Columbia Co Ltd.
 
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