Help with Date Unusual Hidden ELAC Speaker WW2?

[dave bryson]

Hi Folks,
I have a rather interesting old Elac Speaker "hidden" in a copper pot (see photos).
Please note I have already asked for help on a similar forum but it turned out to be mostly USA members and I'm hoping someone from the UK might help.

Does anyone have any ideas about this? The round speaker is hidden in the pot lid and has an old "Elac, made in England sticker" on the side. The speaker has "5 G" and "56" on the base and a number "501" with a red line under it on the underside fabric of the speaker surface.It is connected by 2 old cloth covered cables to 2 terminals in the Socket/Plug at the bottom (old 2-pin socket) with simple small nuts & bolts. Speaker is approx 5" in diameter. Top handle is Bakelite

A number of theories have been offered about this by others;
- WW2 Spy Gear (unlikely - too home-made or "Heath Robinson")?
- Part of a hidden set for use in Occupied Europe in WW2 (listening to BBC)?
- Made in a prisoner of war camp either in a German camp OR by a German prisoner in a UK camp - I kind of favour this version as the German POW camps here kind of ran themselves and the penalty here for having a set to listen to the progress of the war would have been minor)?
- someone suggested WW1 trench art but Elac started manufacturing in 1926.
- Just a bit of fun and an experiment?

Can anyone help me with the approximate date this particular speaker - I have asked Elac but they don't have anyone who would know? One American forum member thought it was probably 1930's which would kind of fit in with being used in WW2 to make a speaker? Also - any ideas about its purpose?

Many thanks for any help
Dave

[paulsherwin]

That speaker looks more 50s than 30s to me.

My guess would be somebody made it in their shed in the 50s or 60s as a novelty, using a speaker from a scrap radio. Maybe it was used as a kitchen extension speaker, or even in a restaurant. The wartime theories seem very fanciful.

It's an unusual thing anyway.

[ms660]

Same here, post WW2 I'd say....56..year?

Lawrence.

[G6Tanuki]

The speaker does look more 1950s than WWII-era.

Whatever, it's another interesting variant on the "Saucepan special" - http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ever_sa...special_2.html

[paulsherwin]

The speaker looks very like the ones used in Vidor, Pye and Ever Ready valve battery portables of the 1950s. By the mid 60s these radios had been rendered obsolete by transistor sets with their much lower running costs and smaller size, so maybe the speaker was 'repurposed' at that time.

I like it, bet it sounds horrible.

[dave bryson]

Many thanks for the prompt responses - i did wonder if the 56 referred to the year.

Warm regards
Dave

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

I like it, bet it sounds horrible.

I don't know, obviously not hifi but it may not sound too bad. It all depends what it's being compared with of course.

[Nicklyons2]

I agree with what has been said above, 50s-ish speaker. If it was WWII era 'spy'/covert fodder, the holes in the lid and bottom wouldn't take much 'sussing' out IMHO.

One thing it might have been for is 'muzak' or P.A. in an oldie worldie pub or restaurant where the decor is all hanging brass or copper items etc; horse brasses, warming pans, copper kitchenalia, brass shoe horns, bugles etc. and a conventional speaker would have stood out - this may have been a novelty disguise. Just a thought.

[paulsherwin]

That was exactly my thinking when I suggested a restaurant. There's a whiff of Abigail's Party about it.

[russell_w_b]

Maybe it was being used as a covert microphone? Bit insensitive though...

[Boater Sam]

Easy, its a pot "calling" the kettle black.

Its a 50s speaker, grey paint, early elacs were cadmium plate I remember.

[lesmw0sec]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

I like it, bet it sounds horrible.

Has to be better than modern flat TV sets though!

[dave bryson]

Thanks again folks,
looks like I can forget any WW2 connection but I still think it's a nice thing.
Cheers
Dave