Close 'n Play Phonograph

[remember]

Close 'N Play Phonograph was an early vinyl record player for kids that could play standard 45 rpm records. The phonograph would only play when the lid was down. Once you opened the phonograph it would stop playing so you could put a new record in. This was a very convenient way of avoiding scratching the record once it had the needle on it as you would be able to get inside once it was playing. The Close 'N Play phonograph had a small control on the top that would operate the speed of the playback.

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[Marine Boy]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

I know this thread is over a year old, but my Close 'n Play Phonograph, came back into my mind the other day so I Googled to try and get some information and a picture.

But on the Net, they mostly talk about it being made by Kenner and coming in blue or red. There was only one mention I could find that said Chad Valley made them. Mine was definitely Chad Valley and was bright orange! Love it if anyone could find a pic.

[Derekflint]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

Close 'N Play Phonograph at Feeling Retro

Sorry it's the Kenner one, but one of the posts mentions Chad Valley. Will keep digging.

[Derekflint]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

Keeping it real in DuPont WA | realdupont.com

Still Kenner but a good picture.

[Derekflint]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

Vectis

Ta da!

[Marine Boy]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

Vectis

Ta da!

Thank you! Seeing that box again brings back very happy memories.

[Derekflint]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

When did they stop making them? I must have lusted after every last kids record player I ever saw, but I don't remember this one.

There's a mini one that is mentioned in the forum (the hello section I think). Found a site or two but that's as far as I got.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

When did they stop making them?...

Just found this very interesting page on a site about things made in Birmingham.

Chad Valley Toys

It says that 1972-75, Chad Valley were closing factories due to competition and recession, so one could make an educated guess that the phonographs didn't make it into the 80s and could have stopped production as early as the mid seventies. But it is only a guess.

[rossobantam]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

I'm in touch with a Chad Valley collector ..this was one of his first emails to me:


"have had to restrict my collecting just to Chad Valley and now further restrict it to the original copmpany which was taken over in 1972 and not the subsequent versions of Chad Valley who just used the famous name to attach to imported rubbish of which Woolworths were the last. Apparently Argos have now aquired the brand name.

Chad Valley started as printers and makers of "stationers' sundries" [everything for the office such as pen holders, nibs, ink wells, paper fasteners, paper clips et al] before they got into games and toys. Christmas crackers were a very big item. They continued with this side of their production up to the end of the 1920s and even much later on made "fancy goods" such as leather gift sets. I have a small number of these non-toy items but they do not crop up very often even on eBay.

There is no company archive and so I am desperate to get hold of any ephemera ....... older catalogues for Chad Valley are exceptionally rare.

Top of my "wish list" is to get hold of some christmas crackers + more of the non-toy items but more realistically to secure as many of the items that they made as promotional/publicity games or toys for other organisations and companies.

My favourite Chad Valley collecting area is jigsaw puzzles and I am always looking for the larger sized puzzles which again seem quite rare and any promotional puzzles made for individual companies "

[Heather74]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

close n play

[Marine Boy]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

Great pic, Huggie. Thanks.

[ladycwhyte]

Re: Close 'n Play Phonograph

I have a blue one from 1972. Still in working order and definitely Chad Valley.