* ONE of the RAREST * VICTOR 8-8 SCHOOLHOUSE VICTROLA * HUGE HORN * EXCELLENT *

Description

This is a 1928 original wind up (no electricity) Victor Victrola model 8-8 "Schoolhouse". It is in excellent or better...working and looking condition. This recently has undergone a professional and expensive restoration of the oak cabinet...and it turned out better than I even hoped for. Pictures were taken with and without flash to give you a good idea on the finish which has a nice aged darkness to it. The blue green accents on the doors are original. They don't come much rarer than this VV 8-8 Schoolhouse model as production ceased after only 2 months in 1928 with only a little over 1000 made according to Baumbach's "Look for the Dog" book. Also as far as rarity...from Paul Edie's website "Victor-Victrola"...it rates a 4 star out of 4 for rarity. From my research very few have survived. This has the wheels in back and the grab iron for easy movement as well as the large shelf that lifts up in the back. This also has the much improved steel Orthophonic horn which was the largest and most efficient horn of any Orthophonic Victrolas and today they are considered the pinnacle of acoustic reproduction. It was brought to my attention the motor board looked like pine...but I can assure you it's oak...and I've added another photo of under the turntable and it is the original oak board with the inspection tag reading amongst other things 8 - 8.
With permission I am also including this information from the website "Victor-Victrola" ...it's really a must read that tells you all about this model:
The VV 8-8 was a floor-model Orthophonic phonograph introduced in the summer of 1928, and was one of the last large acoustic phonographs that Victor ever produced. It was intended for utilitarian, institutional use by facilities such as schools and churches. The intent was to provide a sturdy phonograph that would bring music and the spoken word into classrooms and lecture halls.  It also provided the added benefit of advertising Victor machines to those who happened to be listening. The 8-8 replaced the VV 8-7 'schoolhouse' model, and added several improvements to the 8-7's design.
These schoolhouse models were easily moved around via the presence of wheels located in back of the cabinet. A large handle in the rear made guiding the machines an easy task. The 8-8 had a larger cabinet and more decoration than it's predecessor, and the wheels had the advantage of being recessed into the back of the cabinet, rather than sticking out of the sides (as had been done on the 8-7). In addition, the 8-8 had a much-improved steel Orthophonic horn (see discussion below).
These late-vintage acoustic Victrolas provided exceptional performance, and are still considered to be amongst the best-sounding non-electronic machines ever produced. Interestingly, the 8-8 utilized a re-entrant (folded) horn design as did many other Orthophonic models. However, the 8-8 (and a few other late acoustic models) utilized a stamped steel horn, rather than the usual pressure-formed wood horn. It retained the same exponential horn design as had had earlier Orthophonic machines, but the use of steel had the benefit of providing exceptional volume and performance. These machines have a very lively sound quality with improved high-frequency response when compared to their wood-horn counterparts. Therefore the 8-8 and 8-9 Victrolas had the largest and most efficient horns of any Orthophonic Victrolas, and many collectors today consider them to be the pinnacle of acoustic reproduction.
The 8-8 was manufactured for only a few months during the summer of 1928 before it was abruptly discontinued. Apparently the demand remained very low for this model at a time when sales of acoustic machines were rapidly waning.
The original 1928 selling price of the 8-8 was 5.00, which equates to more than ,900.00 in today's money. However, a discount was provided to schools. An estimated total of 1,400 Victrola 8-8's were produced.  Not many have survived.
No shipping but I'm easily accessed off HWY 20 by Waterloo in northeast Iowa. I can hold this until arrangements are made for pick up. Always happy to answer questions if I can. This measures 25" wide  21" deep and 44" tall. I do have over 20 years on ebay buying and selling with a 100% feedback record...thank you and good luck.