you pig..... ;-) Eric Boyles <[email protected]> wrote:Here is my best deal. I will let it speak for itself. I should also add that there 29 records not shown in the listing.
http://tinyurl.com/26tbc Eric john robles wrote: >Ok, I can't hold out any longer. I got a call from an older couple regarding >an old Edison disc machine that they had and wanted to sell. It was in pieces >because the husband had taken it apart and never could get it back together. >It turned out to be an Edison Bungalow model (supposedly quite rare; according >to Frow's DD book there were only a few known examples. Later more would be >found). >Well, the reproducer was missing the weight and stylus, but there was an >adapter arm. The crank was also missing. I hemmed and hawed, thinking about >what it would cost to put it back together and what I could expect for it at >market value. I finally decided it wasn't worth it, and apologetically told >them as much. They said, "well, we have these two cabinets too, would you be >interested in them?" I turned around and from under a blanket appeard a tall >square mahogany disc cabinet and a half barrel Herzog cabinet! I opened the >Herzog, and saw flat disc shelves, do my disappointment. I reacned in to pull >one out, and my fingers felt routed rings on the underside of the shelves. It >WAS a cylinder cabinet, they had simply inverted the shelves. The shelves for >the door were gone, naturally. I asked their price, and for less than $400 I >got the two cabinets. As I was loading, they said, "oh what the heck, take the >machine for free, we can't use it!". It was a banner day! >John Robles > >bruce78rpm wrote: >About five years ago I got a call from an elderly gentlemen who told me that >a friend gave him one of my business cards and that I was the one to contact >for any questions regarding old phonos or cylinders. He told me he was >selling his entire collection of cylinders and phonographs & horns along >with a very unusual cylinder cabinet. He further explained that he was not a >phono hobbyist himself but had accumulated these items at various auctions >over the years, and really hadn't tinkered with or played them very much, >but if I made him a reasonable offer the entire collection would be mine. >But I must by all of it, I couldn't pick or chose. Included in the >Collection was a Suitcase Model A Home, a Model D Standard, several morning >glory horns, about 400-500 cylinders mostly two minute Edisons(with maybe >10% waste do to mold and mildew) and a few blue amberols.The machines were >in excellent condition but were bound up due to sitting around for a few >decades. But when he showed me the unusual cylinder cabinet I couldn't >believe my eyes. I wasn't sure who the maker was but I was certain it was >something really unique and special. I told him I would go home and work up >a price for the entire collection. In doing some research I determined that >the cabinet was a Full Barrel Herzog in Tiger Oak in pristine condition. >Having no idea what this could be worth I worked up a price for the entire >lot I could afford hoping it would satisfy the owner giving myself some >leverage to go up a bit if I had to. I ended up with the entire lot, and >with a little cleaning and lubricating had the two Edison Machines running >that evening. The Herzog Cabinet became the centerpiece of my modest >collection of Phonos and accesories. The cylinders turned out to contain a >vast array of early comedy and novelty numbers as well some marches and >ballads, and popular songs. Also amongst the cylinders were about 12 old >brown wax cylinders which turned out to some of the earliest "blue" or >risque cylinders in existance. To say the least, probably the most unique >and best find that I will probably encounter in a lifetime. ----- Original >Message ----- >From: "Eric Stott" >To: "Antique Phonograph List" > >Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 6:22 PM >Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Favorite Phonograph Find Stories > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ >Phono-l mailing list >[email protected] >http://t2.cwihosting.com/mailman/listinfo/phono-l_oldcrank.com >_______________________________________________ >Phono-l mailing list >[email protected] >http://t2.cwihosting.com/mailman/listinfo/phono-l_oldcrank.com > > > _______________________________________________ Phono-l mailing list [email protected] http://t2.cwihosting.com/mailman/listinfo/phono-l_oldcrank.com From ddazer Wed Feb 18 19:53:02 2004 From: ddazer (David Dazer) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] great finds Message-ID: <[email protected]> There was the time I bought 21 pink Lamberts for $5 each at an estate sale. All were in the original boxes with matching lids. Dave Dazer From Gpaul2000 Wed Feb 18 21:03:47 2004 From: Gpaul2000 ([email protected]) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] Favorite Phonograph Find Stories Message-ID: <[email protected]> Note: I got alittle carried away with my story - sorry for writing this book! It's tough for some of us "old timers" (I'm 50 years old tomorrow!) to choose one "favorite find." A Berliner on eBay in 2004 that goes for $75.00 is really something. That's $5 less than I paid for my first one, but that was back in April 1973! It's no fair citing deals from the 60s or 70s - even retail prices back then are jokes these days. The first phonograph I ever bought (1967) was a Victrola "XVI" for $20, in Circassian Walnut. Beginner's luck. (It's on the cover of the "Talking Machine Compendium.") I used to dislike eBay, and it DOES lack the warm ambiance that surrounds so many stories of aquisition. However, I've been forced to modify my feelings somewhat after somehow winning one of six known United States Talking Machines this past May. I love the machine (an 1897 hand-driven gramophone; the first non-Berliner disc machine), but I still ache for some warm, fuzzy recollections to go with it. Here's one that comes to mind: I attended a tag sale that had advertised a "Complete Gramaphone." Right. No one was allowed in until 8:00, so I asked the old guy who was handing out numbers if he could describe the machine for me. You all know what he said: "Well, it's a Columbia Gramaphone with 16 records, and if it worked it would be worth $1000." Great, I thought. I almost went home, but something made me stay. I had number 19. As the line formed, a well-known phonograph dealer took his place in line with number 12. "Rats; skunked again" I thought. Another guy was there for the "Gramaphone" too, and he had number 10. He knew absolutely nothing about old phonographs, and was asking me questions. I tried my best to answer, but with hardly any information about the machine, I could be of little help. Finally, the old guy began calling numbers, and after the first 18 people trooped in, I followed, feeling like it was all a waste of time. As I entered, I spotted something back in a mud room where no one was looking. An original Columbia floor stand, labeled "Bird Cage Stand" for $3. That perked me up considerably. Then I walked into the living room to see these two guys staring at a beautiful "AG" (Columbia Grand) Graphophone with its original 56" brass horn, a 14" brass horn, and - - yep - -16 "Grand" cylinders in boxes. The crank was there, the reproducer and recorder in original boxes, and some other stuff. The tag said "Complete Gramaphone. $400." I walked over to a lady holding a pad of paper and asked how one might buy an item, and she asked me what I wanted. I told her, and she said, "The gentleman with #10 has first chance at it." The guy who knew nothing about phonographs. Turns out he was a friend of the lady running the tag sale, so the fix was in. Meanwhile, the phono dealer saw what was going on and wigged out: "This is no way to run a house sale! There are 3 of us who want it! Let's see who's willing to pay the most for it!" The woman became annoyed, and when the dealer wouldn't calm down, she escorted him out the front door! I could have kissed her. Now the guy and I could talk. It turned out that all he wanted was an old phonograph that worked, and - luckily for me - the "AG" had a frozen carriage. I suggested a mutually beneficial plan. I had a nice "AT" back home that I was selling for $400, or an Edison Standard "B" for the same price. I offered the guy $50 if he'd let me buy the "AG" now, and then come to my house to look over the "AT" and the Edison. The guy thought for a second and said, "How about $75?" A sweet moment. The guy wound up buying BOTH machines I had for sale, and I threw in a carrying case with some extra cylinders. Two happy fellows. The carriage was fixable, and I still have the machine (it's in the "Compendium" too!). Not a particularly rare machine, but one of the best stories I have... George Paul From AGW1886 Wed Feb 18 21:55:20 2004 From: AGW1886 ([email protected]) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] Favorite Phonograph Find Stories Message-ID: <[email protected]> Well folks, I've told this one before too. But it's interesting the way It finally turned out. When I was about 13 years old, back in 1957 (I'm 60 now) I made friends with a neighbor about 4 miles away from our farm in North Dakota, near the little town of Antler. So one day I got on my old J.C. Higgins bicycle and rode over to visit. I had never actually been in the big old farmhouse before, so when I was invited inside, I was taken by all the family heirlooms still lovingly cared for and still being used. Mantle clocks, furniture, rugs, radio, everything was from the teens, twenties and thirties. Since I was already a phono nut I asked my friend if there was a phonograph. He said, "Yes, there's one out in the bunkhouse." Out to the bunkhouse we went and there stood an Edison C-250 Laboratory Model in oak. I wanted to hear it and so I asked if it worked. "Sure" was the reply. He opened the lid, set the reproducer down and began turning the record by hand! The spring had been broken for so long that none of the kids had ever had it operating with the springs.... I told my friend that I could fix it just as I had on several other occasions with my own machines. he said, "OK" and we rounded up some tools from the tractor shop and I dismantled the machine and took the springs home to drill a new end as it had merely pulled through on the outside end of one of the springs. A day or two later I returned with the repaired springs and started putting the machine back together. Just as I was finishing up and was about to reinstall the governor, my friend's father came into the bunkhouse. He really gave me hell for taking apart the family phonograph. I tried to tell him I would have it running perfectly in just a few more minutes but he would not hear of it. He run me off with orders to not ever bother coming back. Well, I never forgot that machine and I always wondered what had happened to it. I never have felt right about unfinished projects and it just always bugged me that I was only ten minutes away from getting it running. As I grew older, I eventually moved out to Washington State to live and raise a family. Along about 1990, I went back for another visit home and I had heard that my friend's father had passed away a few years earlier. My friend too, had moved away but the old family farm had passed on the oldest son and his wife. On a whim I called them and asked about the old Edison. Yes, they still had it but it didn't work. I told them that I would be delighted to take a look at it and maybe I could get it running for them. (I didn't mention the story from 1957) When I got there the machine was now in the house as just another piece of furniture with a lamp on it. Unharmed in any way, it had stood there silent all those years with it's drawers filled with late twenties razz-ma-tazz music. I took off the grill and I was not at all surprised to see the governor missing. However, I naturally figured that when it was moved from the bunkhouse years ago, the governor might have gotten lost. I reached around behind the horn and suddenly I felt the governor. I asked for a screwdriver and in ten minutes I had the governor reinstalled and I cranked it up. The family watched me anxiously as I picked out a great Atlantic Dance Orchestra record and as it began to play I watched their faces. I was one proud pup but their expressions did not reflect any appreciation of my accomplishment. I said, "Well, what do you think?" The wife said, "Well, it's not my kind of music!" and she walked out of the room. He did not seem at all enthused either. Then he said, "You want to buy it?" I stammered and said, "Sure, how much do you want for the old thing." "Two hundred dollars," was the reply. Ten minutes later the machine and all the records were in my pickup. But there was even more, in the attic was boxes and boxes of extra Diamond Discs. About 200 in all. So now the old C-250 has had her home with me and I enjoy it every time I get a chance to crank 'er up. Sincerely, Rick A. Jorgensen 18021-150th Avenue East Orting, WA 98360 American Gramophone & Wireless Co. http://members.aol.com/agw1886/index.html Golden Era Automobile Association http://members.aol.com/agw1888/geaahome.htm Country/Western Music Association http://members.aol.com/AGW1886/cwmaindex.html From KEEPERH2O Thu Feb 19 00:14:17 2004 From: KEEPERH2O ([email protected]) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] Favorite Phonograph Find Stories Message-ID: <[email protected]> In a message dated 2/18/04 7:56:11 PM Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: > So now the old C-250 has had her home with me and I enjoy it every time I > get a chance to crank 'er up. > > That's a delightful story! No, I haven't heard that one before, either. It's amazing how things go 'round and destiny is truly woven between our fingers as children. While I've got your attention, I enjoyed the story of the Jorgenson brothers in the milk delivery business during the 1930s (latest issue of "Golden Era Gazette"). Though the implication that these are your relatives seems clear, don't you spell Jorgenson with an "e" instead of an "o"? : ) Edward From plavzic Thu Feb 19 04:21:54 2004 From: plavzic (Robert Plavzic) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] Favorite Phonograph Find Stories Message-ID: <[email protected]> Hello I conjoin with everyone else here being green with envy at the $75 berliner & 29 records...But its the kind of rush that makes the hobby so much fun! [BTW could you send me a few pics of the machine for www.berliner.netfirms.com :-)] But of course - the more one looks the luckier one gets.... Happy Huntings Robert www.berliner.netfirms.com _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
