Thanks, George for your comments about CAPS. I have been amazed at the
quality of the CAPS Journal, The Sound Box. The articles by you, Tim,
Rene and the others are outstanding. I agree, this is the oustanding
journal in the hobby. The Journal alone is worth the membership price.
The CAPS organization has made a gigantic leap in quality in all respects
over the past few years.All of those seriously interested in the hobby
should be a member of both MAPS and CAPS.
Stan Stanford, President
Oregon Territory Antique Phonograph Society
Portland, OR
- Original Message -
From: gpaul2...@aol.com
To: phono-l@oldcrank.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 3:20 PM
Subject: [Phono-L] No Raps on MAPS, But Seek Chaps for CAPS
Jerry,
Thanks for your kind words about my new position in CAPS. There's no doubt
that they wanted me simply for eye-candy. But it's worth noting that CAPS
is not just for California collectors - any more than MAPS is solely for
those living in Michigan. I've been a member of both organizations for
many years, and agree that every serious collector should be a member of
both. What puzzles me is the number of MAPS members who don't belong to
CAPS as well. The CAPS quarterly journal, The Sound Box, is the best - I
repeat - THE BEST publication on antique phonographs and related items.
It's a large-format magazine (8 1/2 x 11) packed with photos and
illustrations. Members just received their March issue last week, and - as
in every issue - there are a number of substantive articles for the
collector who wants to learn more about our hobby. The eight (yes, EIGHT)
articles in the current issue cover these topics:1) A discussion of the
Columbia Period Grafonolas, who made the cabinets
, and illustrations of 18 different models! 2) An article and 4 photos of
an unusual Exposicion gramophone by Larry Karp. Ever seen one of these?
3) Allen Koenigsberg wrote about a long-forgotten 1905 advertising
campaign using a giant balloon tethered to a building in New York City to
promote Victor Talking Machines (w/5 illustrations). A sudden windstorm
brought near-tragedy and one man barely escaped with his life! 4) Thomas
Rhodes (Mr.Orthophonic) writes about Joseph Maxfield's sound box - no,
not the Orthophonic - the one BEFORE that!? 5) So we thought we knew about
EVERY recording of Thomas Edison's voice? How about a 1917 Blue Amberol
(yep - it predates Let Us Not Forget) containing Edison himself
extolling the new Electrip Ediphone? Plus other related artifacts shown in
four photos. 6) Everyone knows that cylinder records are vertically
recorded, but if you read The Sound Box, you're also aware of two types
of LATERALLY RECORDED cylinder records! 5 photos acc
ompany this article. 7) Charles Marowitz writes an article in each issue
on early recording stars, and I think he does an excellent job every time.
This issue, he covered Annette Hanshaw (including 3 illustrations), and
she seemed like such a babe in print that I was inspired to dig out a
couple of her records to see what she sounded like. 8) When we think
catalog sales, we think of Sears - don't we? Well, Montgomery-Ward put
Sears to shame in the 1899-1902 period with the wonderful phonographs it
sold, such as Edison Polyphones, Berliner Johnson Gramophones, the
Thornward, and others. Nine illustrations from actual catalogs are
included in this article. And that's all in just ONE issue of The Sound
Box!? Rene Rondeau is the Editor, and does a magnificent job of creating
a beautiful, eye-catching journal with full-color covers. There are 36
illustrations in this issue, which doesn't include the 5 pages of
advertisements!
CAPS maintains a website at www.ca-phono.org. I encourage everyone who's
not a member to do themselves a favor and check it out. Sorry for the long
essay, but this is really too good to miss!
Best to all,
George Paul
California Antique Phonograph Society
PO Box 169
Victorville, California 92393
(Dues are only $25 and include a wonderful quarterly
newsletter)
___
Phono-L mailing list
http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
