Millionnaire N°6175
An absolutely beautiful Millionnaire from the 1920s, sold in Belgium, by the distributor Middegaels, in what must have been by then the optional wooden box. This was at a time when a Millionnaire was probably not the best tool for the job anymore - and judging from the condition of this one, it was barely used at all, probably in favour of an electric machine with automatic multiplication and division. We do not know what company it came from - it surfaced at a house clearing, made its way to a Brussels flea market, was scooped up by a collector, the box, which had had water damage, was refinished (very badly ...), and it was sold on to me.After salivating over it for a few weeks, I decided to sell it on to a collector who needed it more than I do - but it hurts, and I want first dibs on buying it back if he ever sells it.
Here are some pictures - as the machine arrived, the finish of the wooden box was atrocious - the top, sides and front had been varnished with varnish that had gone bad, and refused to stick to the surface, or dry, so the box was a sticky mess.
The hardware was taken off the box
It was stripped chemically...
...dried, and sanded lightly.
The machine itself was photographed in its incredible original condition, and then cleaned, lubricated and waxed. One comma slider was bent a bit out of shape, this was also rectified.
And finally the box received its first coats of shellac
After that, about 8 more hours of french polishing, then cutting back and waxing, and this is the result:
And with all the hardware back on:
Then the machine had to go back in the case:
Some pretty pictures:
Another inhabitant took an interest:
And finally a icture with the last cat hair removed as well ...
