Did anyone see that auction - Fairchild 202 mono tonearm?

[be.audiophil]

Did anyone see the eBay listing for this beautifull Fairchild 202 mono tonearm?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MONO-Fairchild-ToneArm-Model-202-With-3-Cartridges-Stylus-Built-In-/191590297056?ssPageName=ADME%3AB%3ABCA%3ADE%3A3160&nma=true&si=CNuIUApu4Tm%252F2fNB4T%252BdXrCiux4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Some pictures of this beauty















The headshell is fixed but capable of taking up to three cartridges






Unfortunately, the price was very much higher than I expected and I was not the highest bidder.

Placed anyone of you the successful bid? Went the tonearm probably to someone of the Lenco community?

[decca4]

Very very nice looking but a bit expensive....

Interesting literature and thanks for sharing.

[mosin]

Almost any Fairchild piece of equipment is very special. Like a Patek Philippe watch, it is an investment that will only appreciate in the coming years.

Unfortunately, I can afford neither.

[analogadikt]

The design and look reminds one of cars and aircraft from a bygone era.

Regards,

[RR1957]

As we can see the streamline design came in all corners of life halfway the last century.
This one could have been designed by Raymond Loewy f.e. All kinds of products did get
a form in this design, while it was hardly or not at all nessecairy. It was a kind of fake
design, because it was not based on science but just on looks. Cars looked streamlined,
but they weren't at all really that. It was a positive expression of new times in the future,
same like the Space Age after the launche of the Sputnick. The only purpose of it was
to boost sales. That was the real streamline.
A lot of products became 'streamlined' like fridges, vacuum cleaners, pencil sharpeners,
locomotives, cars, toasters, kettles, radios, televisions, etcetera. Even strollers.
So also this arm for record players.
In our time we have to do with real streamline science and we can see how boring that is
with the recent cars. More and more they become looking almost the same.

Thx for sharing, great article and great pictures.

[be.audiophil]

Hi René,

you´re right Raymind Loewy could have been the designer and of course he started a style that was used since the 20´s until today. Even amangst the most expensive collector bicycles you´ll finde streamline aero designs



But the best known designs of that era might be

Phantom Corsair 1938


GSC Locomotive for PRR/ Penny


Gottwald club seater


Streamliner Caravan


Kitchen Aid


All this designs belong to the era of Art Deco

Nowadays those design principles are transformed to modern taste and manufacturing possibilities



I love those designs.

[RR1957]

I did not want to give much examples because I was afraid to be too off topic for TS.    
But thank you for these well known examples which I admire too.
 

An absolute icon in this subject is the K3 kettle, an absolute beauty, which I had before,
but changed for the K2 kettle of Hobbs, the first electric kettle with automatic stop.
This beauty I do use daily for our Chinese tea. It is not in the kitchen but on the diner table
to use immediately (and because of its looks of course). The K3 is less practical and of
aluminium.
http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_collectibles/kitchenalia/russell_hobbs_k2.php

K3

[old woody]

Not surprised it went for such a high price , cartridges go for around £300-500 each depending on condition ........Best Mono cartridge i ever owned was a 225-a

[jloveys]

Hello ! I am the lucky winner of this beauty !   Merry Xmas !

https://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/223278151163?ViewItem=&item=223278151163

[Lynnot]

Bon Noël Jean,

a good catch, might be a good match to a grey Garrard 301?
Some of these old tonearm/cartridge designs do extremely well
on records - and music - of about the same vintage.

Best regards, Tony

[GP49]

Retro-inspired automobiles enjoyed popularity in the early years of the 21st Century, too, particularly in America.  While most only harkened back to the 1950s and 1960s (Ford Thunderbird, Fiat 500, Chevrolet HHR), some were inspired by designs of the 1930s.  The Volkswagen New Beetle was one, though it really was derived from enthusiasm for the popular VW Beetle of the 1950s and 1960s, not the few built under the Nazi regime in the 1930s.  The real, 1930s-retro car of the early 2000s was the Chrysler PT Cruiser.  A rendition of the shapes of separate fenders, running boards and a narrow hood with a short nose of typical late-1930s sedans, it was an immediate hit, super-popular, with a waiting list for getting one of six to eight months in its first two years.  It ran for ten years, its styling virtually unchanged, and still maintains an enthusiastic cadre of owners today.

Alas, retro has faded and automotive styling, its shapes now homogenized in the interest of aerodynamics, now emphasizes surface detail, often overstated and overwrought...in some cases downright ugly, in attempts to be distinctive.

2006 Chrysler PT Cruiser: