I\'ve got another outstanding assortment of mechanical, technological and musical antiques coming your way this week, so make sure to check out my other listings after you look at this one.Here\'s an exceptionally nice and very scarce 1903 Victor M Rigid Arm disc phonograph fitted with an even scarcer Rigid Arm Exhibition reproducer. Victor\'s Rigid Arm phonographs preceded their Taper Arm phonographs and were the company\'s first attempt to configure their machines with horns that were mounted in the rear and supported by a back-bracket. Typically fitted with Concert reproducers, the later Rigid Arms were also available with Exhibition reproducers, whose sonic attributes were vastly superior to those of the Concert. The reproducer fitted to this arm has a serial number of just 1085, and as you can see in the pictures, it features the special mounting flange seen only on Rigid Arm reproducers.Though somewhat crude when compared to Victor\'s Taper Arms, Rigid Arms -- with their unique scissor mechanism that was later used by Berliner on Canadian-made rear mount phonographs -- were nonetheless an ingenious work-around to the problems inherent in the traditional front mount horn design.Condition of this Rigid Arm M is excellent throughout, and the Rigid Arm assembly itself is functioning perfectly. Beautiful original cabinet finish (it\'s been waxed, buffed and hand-polished); excellent original nickel-plating on all the small hardware; excellent original horn elbow (PAT. APLD. FOR cleanly blind-stamped above the threads); excellent original crank; excellent original brass and black horn with a nearly perfect original Nipper decal. The only replacement parts on the phonograph are the turntable felt and the record hold-down, both of which are identical to the originals.The phonograph is in excellent mechanical condition as well. Strong motor, with plenty of torque. Governor works as it should. Machine runs smoothly. Reproducer has been professionally rebuilt and sounds great. The proprietary Rigid Arm elbow has been re-formed and fortified to prevent it from sagging, but as you can see in the pictures, the result is a perfectly re-formed elbow and a horn that projects at the correct angle relative to the machine. Indeed, these elbows were the Achilles Heel (no pun intended) of the Rigid Arm set-ups, and as you know if you\'re familiar with them, it\'s almost impossible to find a Rigid Arm elbow that hasn\'t collapsed to some degree under the weight of the horn -- especially a horn as large as this one.I\'ve been selling and shipping antique phonographs, antique radios and antique scientific apparatus for more than 25 years. When you purchase an antique phonograph from me, you\'ll receive a phonograph that arrives safely because it\'s been carefully packed (by me, not by some well-intentioned but nonetheless confounded, doe-eyed teenager working at the UPS store who wouldn\'t know a phonograph from a farm tool), and you\'ll receive a phonograph that includes thorough but easy-to-understand set-up and operating instructions, so you won\'t be left scratching your head, trying to figure out how it works. Sure, you can probably get a lower price from Joe and Janet Barn-Find, but when your \"bargain\" arrives broken, and without any hint of how it works or how you might be able to put it back together, you\'ll realize that you really do get exactly what you pay for.If you\'re offerding from overseas, please contact me in advance for a shipping quote. sale participants with no prior response, or with private response, should contact me before placing a offer.That\'s about it. Buyer prepays and includes shipping.