About the Collector

Domenic was born and raised in a small medieval village called Pescosansonesco in Abruzzi, Italy (CLICK HERE for pictures of the town). He was first introduced to phonographs when his father returned from the Second World War with a portable gramophone that he had made during his internment as a POW in Scotland. (Click Here to view this machine.)

Domenic immigrated to Canada in the mid 1960s and soon began to frequent the flea markets in the Toronto area. It was at one of these flea markets that he found an old gramophone in the early 1970s. This machine reminded him of the gramophone that his father had brought back from the war, and it became the first in his collection.

After making this purchase, he became very interested in acquiring more phonographs and so joined the local gramophone club in Toronto. He has since amassed a large collection of gramophones and music boxes, and he enjoys restoring such pieces to their original condition. In doing this, he feels that he is helping to preserve these fascinating machines so that future generations can enjoy them.