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Original Edison Standard Phonograph, Model B, Circa 1906-1910
This wonderful old system was a "barn find" in the late 1960's by me. It was a total disaster at the time from a very poor storage environment . Yours truly proceeded with "restoration" efforts at the time to arrive at its present condition. Meanwhile its been in my clean storage for 40+ years.
The Model
From our research, this is a later Model B version. Details from the nameplate follow:
Edison Standard PhonographPatents Referenced: Jun 26 1900(Reissued Sep 26 1900) Dec 31 1901Nov 17 1903 Aug 29 1905Oct 3 1906 Serial Number 480734
The Case
The case has been completely sanded down and refinished with original oak veneer being re-glued in places where necessary. In the process, The oak lost its original dark stain and is now a "light" yellow oak finish with a glossy polyurethane finish. Remnants of the original decal were also lost. Not terribly "antique looking" now, but not falling apart either.
The Mechanism
The works were originally pretty dirty and gummy with a few rusty spots, but everything was intact. Being a clock repairman at the time, the mechanism was cleaned and lubricated. The unit now winds and runs beautifully, but could surely use another iteration of cleaning/oiling to recover from the last 40yrs of setting around.
Again, the motor spring is sound and winds great. The gears are in good shape, along with the governor springs and speed control pads. The needle is present and intact and the reproducer works and sounds good, even without the horn. The reproducer is a "MODEL-H 4 MINUTE" unit.
The Horn
The horn originally accompanying the unit was in a completely rusted state of disrepair. The mating end was gone from rust along with most of the paint. It is a large "morning glory" type horn I think, but was difficult to tell for certain from all the missing metal. Having a welder in the family, the horn was re-constructed with sheet steel and re-painted. Its new length is 25" with a diameter of 20" across the widest flare.
Please pardon its "psychedelic" artsy red appearance. Suppose I was attempting a tulip look or something (it was the 1960's). Again not very "original" but its an intact non-rusty horn that mates with the phonograph fine. However, its huge size will definitely require a hanger or "horn crane" that is not included. The horn has only been "hand-held" in place for fit-check and brief player checkout.
The Cylinders
This is simply a small collection of eight cylinders that were picked up over the years, mainly to demonstrate the phonograph's operation. Many are not in their original tubes and there are no tube lids with any of them. None are actually "Blue Amberol" types although some of the tubes indicate such.
All the cylinders are in reasonable condition and playable. Most, but not all, have a "July 29 '02" patent date. A list of the titles follows:
805 Accordian Solo, Medley of Straight Jigs No 1, Kimmel
1045 Band, To Our Glorious Country, March
1190 Band, Automobil - March (Automobile March)
1426 Song, Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland, Van Brunt
1464 Sketch, Jasper's Diplomacy, Jones & Sibley
7901 Song, Any Old Place I Can Hang My Hat
9792 Comic Song, She Forgot To Bring Him Back
9838 Comic Song, Pass It Along to Father
Shipping
All the above items are being offered as a lot as I simply want to find a new appreciative home for it. Hopefully some knowledgeable Edison collector can provide that home along with a bit more TLC to urge it along towards an even better pristine condition.
As a consequence, all items will be shipped together but obviously in separate containers due to their nature. Please excuse the higher shipping cost, but that's just what it takes to pack and ship multiple containers of combined heavy/lighter and fragile goodies!
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Questions Welcome!