I am not sure I can top the $75 Berliner but here is my "favorite find" About 9 years ago I went to an auction that advertised phonographs and parts. There were a couple of Edison Standards and a Columbia BK. There were also about three or four large boxes of parts. Mostly motors, arms, and misc. hardware. I noticed one older gentleman digging through the boxes of parts as if he was one a mission. I started a conversation with him about the parts and he said he had to have a reproducer he saw in one of the boxes. He pointed to a diamond disk reproducer and was adamant that he was going after the parts to get it. I told him that I was interested in all the other parts and that if he didn't bid against me that I would give him the reproducer. He agreed and I filled my trunk with all the parts for about $30. He came over and as I handed him the reproducer I asked him about the Edison diamond disk he must have. He said he doesn't have a player for disks but for those "Can Records". I told him that the reproducer wouldn't work on a "Can" playing machine. He was quite sure that it would fit but agreed to take my phone number down just in case it didn't. Sure enough, I got a call that same night. He said it didn't even come close to fitting. I asked him what model of Edison player he had and he said "I don't know. It has a large brown gooseneck horn on top of it." This narrowed it down enough for me and I offered to come and see if I could fix it for him. The next day I drove about 2 hours to his house to find a beautiful Edison Opera perched on top of a player piano. He brought it down and set it "hard" on the dining room table. He said he had it for many years and it never worked right. All it would to is skip on the record. I new right away to check the fiber govenor gear. Sure enough, about half of the teeth were worn real bad. I showed him the problem and before I could offer my services to fix it he threw his arms down at it and said rather loudly "Why don't you just buy this piece of *&^%*$* from me" I was stunned and told him that I didn't know what a fair offer would be and asked him what he had to have for it. He mentioned that he just spent $900 at the auction we met at and that is what he wants for it. I couldn't write the check fast enough. After loading the Opera in the car and saying our good-byes he said "You're not done yet. The cabinet that it used to sit on is in the garage." We went to the garage and pulled out an excellent lion-clawfooted cabinet full of records. After loading the cabinet he said "You're still not done" He went into the back of the garage and got a couple of boxes of parts. It turns out that for years he would buy parts he thought would work on the Opera and after he found out they didn't they were put in a box. And on top of the parts was the diamond disk reproducer I gave to him at the auction. It only took a couple of days and I had the gear repaired and purring like a kitten. I hope this wasn't too winded but it is my "Favorite Find Story" Maybe some other time I will tell of the Montross Berliner find.
Ken B. From Zonophone2002 Fri Feb 20 04:01:09 2004 From: Zonophone2002 ([email protected]) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] Walnut 16 Message-ID: <[email protected]> hi all alot of his auctions dont seem to make reserve or they sell and seem to go back on ebay a few months later mmmm i wonder with a private auction rob From lherault Fri Feb 20 07:55:51 2004 From: lherault (Ron L'Herault) Date: Sun Dec 24 13:10:32 2006 Subject: [Phono-L] favorite finds In-Reply-To: <000c01c3f75f$2f170f20$c9d4b...@oemcomputer> Message-ID: <[email protected]> OK, Here is my favorite find. Keep in mind that I started as a 13 yr. old in 1961. When I was in college, a fellow Historical Society member who was also a feature writer for a local paper did a story on my hobby. Soon thereafter, I got a call from a fellow who had a phonograph for sale. I went to look and it was a small, outside horn Victor. At the time, I only had inside horn machines and a Suitcase Home. He had "cleaned" the horn and managed to ruin the paint on it. It didn't run right. He asked me if I wanted it and I said yes. He asked what it was worth and I truthfully answered that I didn't know. "How a bout $10-I have to settle an estate", he said. I agreed and my Victor P1 with the original box for its long throat Exhibition sound box were on their way home with me. I couple years previous to this I had rescued the mechanicals to an early Victrola and the governor springs in it fit the P1 so I was able to get it playing smoothly again. Black Spray paint and Brasso restored the horn. It is still one of my favorites. Ron L
