Originality is when you could buy phonographs, cylinders, and parts from guys that worked with Edison... I remember going with my mother back in the ealy 1970's sometime I think around 1972 to a house in East Orange, NJ, She was looking for Concert cylinders, since she just acquired a Concert player from her great grandmother. An antique dealer told her the only place she would probably find some good concert cylinders was from these guys who lived in East Orange, NJ, they had worked in Edisons factory, and still had a basement full of phonographs, cylinders and parts. I remember going too the house, around back, and going down the cellars stairs, and there in the basement were shelves of Edison phongraphs, and boxes & boxes of cylinders, and parts. I was only 12 then, so I couldn't really understand the magnitude of all of this, but my mother did pick up 4 concert cylinders, a tube of Edison gear oil, and an Edison phonograph catalogue, and my brother & I bought about 10 black regular cylinders to play on a Standard we had bought. Maybe someone here on the list might have some further information about these guys? I'm sure they are long gone, they were both in theri golden years back then.
Clint > Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:44:46 EDT > From: ClockworkHome at aol.com > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Collectibles - How's That For Originality? > To: phono-l at oldcrank.org > Message-ID: <d25.315eab64.35d76eee at aol.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > > Yes, originality is the desired goal and is getting more difficult to find as > time goes by. I feel sorry for the newbies entering the hobby today who > strive for this. Just this month on eBay was a "never been played brown wax > record" in a ratty Gold Molded box and an Edison Electric Phonograph which is > an M > motor base with a late Model A Triumph topworks that has craftsman added idler > pulleys to the topworks but with no pulley stanchions and a serial number on > a patent plate way to high. > > I really do miss the golden days when I would answer an ad for a phonograph > in the newspaper. One was for an Amberola DX which I still own. It read > simply Edison Amberola $275 which in 1965 was rather high but I called and > went > anyway. The very old couple selling the machine had it sitting on a curved > front > Hertzog matching oak record cabinet full of desirable titles of Blue > Amberols. I asked them what they wanted for the cabinet and they said > nothing since > it went with the phonograph. I told them the combination was worth much more. > They simply would not take more than $275. As I was packing my new treasures > I asked what was so special about the figure $275 and they responded that was > what the vet's bill was for their cocker spaniel to get a new gold tooth! > > Regards to All and may all your finds be rare ones... > > Al >
