I agree with all of you. One must be careful in not only collecting phonographs, but collecting anything in general. This is especially true for the first timer that wants to jump into 'collecting.' I read an email from someone in this thread not long ago that used the adjective 'sleazy' to describe antique dealers. I would just like to say that not all antique dealers, just like car salesman and politicians, are dishonest. In fact, I have obtained some of my most prized antiques, including a phonograph or two from antique dealers. We must understand that there are many people that do not take the time to research a subject before heading into it head over heals. This includes both the seller as well as the buyer.
An example of this was last summer when I attended a large estate auction in my area. The auctioneer advertised in the newspaper ad a nice vintage 'old' Victrola with a real nice 'old' horn. I tried to contact the auctioneer beforehand to ask some specifics so that I could find out if it was indeed a nice old phonograph. I could not reach him before the auction and was late getting to the sale the next day. By the time I got there, the phonograph was only moments from hitting the selling block. The nice vintage 'old' Victrola with a real nice 'old' horn turned out to be a nice old 'CRAPOLA'! As my six year old would say...YUCK! Before I could react, the auctioneer had already described it as the most beautiful Victrola that he had ever had the pleasure of auctioning off and that whoever was fortunate enough to win the bid would really have a prize! The crowd oooed and aawwed as if he were auctioning off the Hope Diamond. As soon as he started the bidding at $100.00, several hands flung toward the skies. I told the man next to me, that had his fingers brushing his mustache in mad anticipation of bidding, that this was a reproduction item and that is was a reproduction of the worst kind. I explained to him what a Crapola is and he said that I did not know what I was talking about as "this was just like his great grandmother's wonderful Victrola." Yea, I know, a Victrola with a horn!! Anyway, I stood in total disbelief as the Crapola sold for over $1000.00!!! After the auction, I shared some lessons of learning (Phonograph 101) with the auctioneer. He did not want to hear it! He said that although he did not know that the item was not genuine, it was the buyers responsibility to know what he was bidding on. I could tell that the auctioneer really did not care as he only wanted the money. The buyer left with big smiles and could not wait to show off his new prized possession. He left in such a hurry that I could not get to him to share a little insight. Maybe it was a blessing as the smile and happiness that he showed of owning this 'prized' item was a true Kodak moment. Junk is out there. It always has and always will be. Unless one knows any better, junk will still sell. Some folks, like the auctioneer may not know any better, but as in the example, they sure don't care about learning. It's a buy at your own risk market! My hats off to anyone that tries to keep one from getting burned. Thanks to the individual in this group for taking the time to write the ebay seller as an effort to get the facts straight. As true lovers of these things called phonographs, and the fantastic joy that this hobby of collecting brings, it is our responsibility keep the hobby as honest and wholesome as possible. It begins with each individual. I continue to promote the hobby so that there will be collectors out there when we are gone. I am grateful that my daughters love the hobby and have already picked out which phonographs they want to put in their homes. In fact, they have names for each machine. My youngest daughter's favorite is the Victor 0 and she named it 'Sunny' when she was small. I have had the fortunes of meeting many nice people along the way that have not only sold me some nice pieces, but have educated me along the way. I hope to be a mentor as well. Don't get me wrong, I have also found those that are really in this hobby strictly for the money and will do some 'minor' under the table things to make a profit. If one stays in the hobby long enough, they learn about these individuals fast. News travels through the clubs! This is such a small profit for such a large price to pay. Hey, as we say here in South Carolina...Y'all are a great bunch! Thanks for all of the information ya'll bring to the hobby. Keep 'er running at 78....rpms that is! Brantley </HTML> From [email protected] Wed Mar 12 11:29:17 2008 From: [email protected] (Rich) Date: Wed Mar 12 11:30:38 2008 Subject: [Phono-L] Franken-Crapophone In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> References: <[email protected]><003501c88428$8e08d180$6401a...@user52c8f93503> <[email protected]><001c01c8843d$709e1960$0101a...@emachines><[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Well, I wondered.... I thought I was clear, but you never know. Robert Wright wrote: > He was actually talking to Tim, Rich. He just put the wrong name. > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rich" <[email protected]> > To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 9:53 AM > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Franken-Crapophone > > >> I have not bothered to look at the auction at all. I was making a >> GENERAL comment regarding eBay auctions and sellers in general. If >> you read what I wrote again you will notice that I commented on the >> ethical quality of some sellers, but not all. >> >> John Maeder wrote: >>> They did AFTER they finally stopped the original auction where it was >>> being presented as authentic. If you read my post, I say that, and >>> they only re-listed it after I emailed them three times. You are >>> looking at the re-listed item, Rich. John >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > From [email protected] Wed Mar 12 11:31:22 2008 From: [email protected] (Rich) Date: Wed Mar 12 11:32:57 2008 Subject: [Phono-L] Moldy wax records In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> References: <002a01c8841e$818d8540$6c9fe...@ger1> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Skip the solvent, use a heat lamp. Lightly place on mandrel, turn on lamp something like a 100w flood lamp, rotate for a couple of min and either shave or record. Works fine. Steve Andersen wrote: > You can shave the black wax records if you treat them with a softening > solvent. > > On Mar 12, 2008, at 10:57 AM, Peter Fraser wrote: > >> no, you can't shave and record on black wax, only brown. >> >> On Mar 12, 2008, at 6:24 AM, Ron L wrote: >> >>> You can't fix them since the mold has eaten away the sound information. >>> However, they can be shaved and used for blanks to re-record. I only do >>> this if they are completely unintelligible. I sometimes digitize >>> what I can >>> here before I shave them. >>> >>> Ron L >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: [email protected] >>> [mailto:[email protected]] On >>> Behalf Of ger >>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 4:53 AM >>> To: [email protected] >>> Subject: [Phono-L] Moldy wax records >>> >>> What does one do with moldy wax records? >>> Throw them away? >>> Or save them for the interesting titles, with hopes that someday someone >>> will figure out how to "fix" them? :) >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Ger >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > From [email protected] Wed Mar 12 11:46:18 2008 From: [email protected] (John Maeder) Date: Wed Mar 12 11:47:22 2008 Subject: [Phono-L] Early Collectors In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> References: <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> I have Del's Opera. John > Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:15:23 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Phono-L] Early Collectors > > I'm sorry to hear that we lost Ken Blazier and Del > Hahn. I had the good fortune to get acquainted with > both of them from attending the early CAPS shows in > the 80's. I was invited to both their homes and > enjoyed seeing their collections. Both had fine > collections but I was totally amazed to see two > consecutively numbered Edison Operas in Ken's > collection. Wow! Jerry Blais > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org From [email protected] Wed Mar 12 11:42:01 2008 From: [email protected] (Andrew Baron) Date: Wed Mar 12 11:51:34 2008 Subject: [Phono-L] Moldy wax records In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> References: <002a01c8841e$818d8540$6c9fe...@ger1> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Thanks for these observations. Andy On Mar 12, 2008, at 12:10 PM, Steve Andersen wrote: > I have not done this is many of years but I think I used turpentine. > If you use the solvent with a rag (messy) you don't have to shave > them. Sound quality won't be nearly as good on the black cylinders > as with the brown cylinders because your recording on a harder wax > cylinder. > > > On Mar 12, 2008, at 1:50 PM, Andrew Baron wrote: > >> What are the best solvents for this? >> >> Andy >> >> On Mar 12, 2008, at 9:35 AM, Steve Andersen wrote: >> >>> You can shave the black wax records if you treat them with a >>> softening solvent. >>> >>> On Mar 12, 2008, at 10:57 AM, Peter Fraser wrote: >>> >>>> no, you can't shave and record on black wax, only brown. >>>> >>>> On Mar 12, 2008, at 6:24 AM, Ron L wrote: >>>> >>>>> You can't fix them since the mold has eaten away the sound >>>>> information. >>>>> However, they can be shaved and used for blanks to re-record. I >>>>> only do >>>>> this if they are completely unintelligible. I sometimes >>>>> digitize what I can >>>>> here before I shave them. >>>>> >>>>> Ron L >>>>> >>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected] >>>>> ] On >>>>> Behalf Of ger >>>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 4:53 AM >>>>> To: [email protected] >>>>> Subject: [Phono-L] Moldy wax records >>>>> >>>>> What does one do with moldy wax records? >>>>> Throw them away? >>>>> Or save them for the interesting titles, with hopes that someday >>>>> someone >>>>> will figure out how to "fix" them? :) >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> Ger >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Phono-L mailing list >>>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Phono-L mailing list >>>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Phono-L mailing list >>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
