The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Wow! Very nice, Fran!

Hi folks,

Just a friendly nudge:

As many of you are no doubt aware, forum member pughphonos has compiled a serial number listing of extant Edisonic Beethovens and Schuberts. After a recent conversation with him over at his post http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=16654, we both thought it might be a good idea to take his survey to the next level, and begin to document specific features that are found on them.

After considering which questions I might think pertinent for the study of them, I thought it might be prudent to expand a survey to include the Long Playing models as well, before any more examples disappear forever.

In theory, this survey doesn't necessarily duplicate his work, and our hope is that those whom participated in the earlier list, will also take the time to submit additional information here.

As with the other surveys I maintain here at the forum, I will keep a detailed spreadsheet, and I will extend my research to include other sources of information. The data will eventually be shared with the collecting/historical community for their use as a tool to help understand these archaic, and beloved Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs.

Please answer the following questions as accurately as possible:

1) What is the model? Schubert(CLT), Beethoven(BN), Long Playing console: 1-C, 2-C, 3-C, 4-C.

2) What is the serial number on the dataplate? "?????"

3) Is there a speed control knob present in the left hand corner of the motor-plate? "YES/NO"

4) What finish is present on the hardware and reproducer? "Gun-metal", "Gold", "Nickel"

5) Which reproducer(s) are present? "Regular", "Edisonic", "LP", "78 (or lateral) Adapter"

6) Does your Phonograph (Schubert/Beethoven owners) have the Long and Short gearing present? "YES/NO"

7) Does your Phonograph have the "10 and 12 inch" buttons present? "YES/NO"

8) Are there any other special attachments present: Such as; tone arm adapters, other soundboxes or reproducers, single or double reproducer holder, needle cups, or any other interesting additional features? Please list each with any observed manufacturer identification, if possible.

9) Are there any original documents or dealer identification with, or fastened to, your Phonograph? Please describe in detail with location if affixed to Phonograph.

10) What is the Cabinet Factory No. (if a sticker is present inside the horn compartment)? "Cabinet Factory No.???"

I appreciate your participation, and welcome any additional comments of interest.

Thank you,
Fran

Just posted to the earlier thread, but I'll add here as well: Edisonic Schubert 2501 is up for bids on eBay. I don't think we had that one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-1920S-Edis ... OSwHMJYNLP~

There's another one listed now too, in NJ.

drh wrote:Just posted to the earlier thread, but I'll add here as well: Edisonic Schubert 2501 is up for bids on eBay. I don't think we had that one.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-1920S-Edis ... OSwHMJYNLP~

Thank you, I've added it to my spreadsheet.

Best,
Fran

PeterF wrote:There's another one listed now too, in NJ.

That one has been on eBay for quite a long time now with no takers, and it bothers me. At first glance, the legs are just *wrong*, and I think all of us who have seen the listing have been dismissing this machine as having had some unrelated set of legs grafted onto it. Looking closely at the (inadequate) photos, however, I don't see any obvious seams where somebody replaced the originals; the legs appear to be set into the cabinet body just as a "normal" set would be. Moreover, the finish is pretty surely old and seems to be a perfect match; if the machine has been refinished, it must have been refinished a long time ago. Which raises the question: why would anybody go to the trouble, way back when Edison machines were a dead letter, to affix a new set of legs to an Edisonic and then refinish the whole cabinet? The serial number on this machine is fairly high, albeit not the highest we've seen, and its legs do look like a cheaper design to produce; I wonder, is it just possible the New Jersey Edisonic is an example of a legitimate, but unsuccessful, variant introduced late in the run in an attempt to cut costs further? Or derived from a different cabinet supplier that didn't quite follow the usual plan, and the company was too far gone to worry about it?

I agree that, although the legs on the NJ Schubert don't conform to the conventional design, they don't look grafted on either. I'd like to see that Schubert in person. It would also be interesting to know the Cabinet Factory number on the sticker inside.

I have an A-150 Edison Disc Phonograph with original straight leg braces rather than the conventionally shaped type. Anomalies did occur in Edison production!

George P.

Just my $.02:

The entire leg section of a Schubert is a sub-assembly that was glued and screwed to the base of the cabinet structure - the corner stiles of the cabinet DO NOT extend to the legs. It would not be that difficult to fabricate a simple leg assembly and graft it onto the Schubert in question.

Although the pictures in the listing aren't great, the shade of finish on the legs looks slightly darker than the rest of the cabinet, to my eyes.

Yes, it would be nice to examine the unit in person, to make an accurate assessment. I wonder if anyone in the area could do that

Below is an image of the underside of my Schubert #3,020. It illustratres the mounting of the leg sub-assembly to the cabinet base. As can be noted, there are gussets that have come unglued, and are missing, due to failure of the original glue that held everything intact.

Best,
Fran

I would agree that the NJ Schubert has non-original legs and stretcher, which is placed differently and rather plain. Here are comparison pictures of it and mine:
Bob

A friendly "bump" to encourage more owners of the Edisonic models to participate in this project.

A sincere "Thank You", to those who have already donated their information.

Best,
Fran