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A friend and I purchased machines over the weekend and this long green Home was one of the machines I ended up with. I've always believed that any Edison with a "special" finish should have the second metal tag with Edison's signature. I don't believe this machine ever had such a tag. There are no holes where such a tag would have been attached. The ID tag is nickel plated as is the crank. The nickeling appears very old. All of these photos as "as found" pictures.

Have others seen Edison machines with a special finish that did not have the second signature tag? Thanks for your comments.

Jerry Blais

Very interesting nice find! Agree that the nickle looks very old. Be interesting to see what turns up on this.

Perhaps it was a basement job by the original owner? Just a possibility.

Hey Jerry,
What a great machine ))
My question is does the serial number match on the slide rail ?
Either way that is a great addition to the collection.
Thanks,
Mark

Didn’t Edison make those special order machines??? Tomb

Didn’t Edison make those special order machines??? Tomb

Yes, you could order any model, including the humble Gem, with a special finish. Mahogany cabinets, gold and nickel deck finishes, and embellished decorations were some of the extra cost options. I always thought those machines gold or nickel decks included an additional tag with Edison's signature featured in the tag.

Was the extra signature tag not part of the embellishment on the earlier special finish machines?

I was hoping to hear from other Forum members that own or have seen other Edisons with special finished decks.

Thanks, Jerry Blais

Jerry,

Here is my nickel plated Home. It is not easy to see from the picture, but the serial number is actually stamped into the top casting right in front of the feed-screw. It matches the serial number on the ID tag, as well as the one stamped into the knife-edge. The serial number is in the 32,000 series. As well, the Edison signature tag is present on the front of the top casting, as seen in the picture.

I know of two others with this exact configuration, both in the 32,000 series.

Hope that helps.

Shawn

Jerry,
Whether plated by the Phonograph Works, the early dealer, or an early home job, it looks like the castings were well prepared. I'd give it a place in my collection anytime.

Shawn,
Wow, I've never seen one with the serial number there. As far as the knife (or straight) edge goes, in looking over my excel sheet of Homes, I see that the main run of serial numbers appearing on the straight edge begins around 17726 (there are a couple of earlier exceptions) and runs up to about 70532. That doesn't mean that there are not exceptions to that - I just haven't seen or noted it.

As a side note, the 32000s were still mostly Suitcase style machines. I have seen one with a New style case and Black Banner in that block. Maybe they were warranty repairs or upgrades or advance dealer models? In any case, Shawn, that's a pretty machine!

Martin

Jerry,

I agree with Martin. A conventional Home casting cannot be simply stripped of its paint, nickel plated, and come out looking like yours. The cast iron must be smoothed and polished first - a real chore with cast iron since it often contains dimples. Whoever did this knew what they were doing.

Question: are the castings cast iron or brass? If brass, I think we can attribute this to the Edison Phonograph Works. If cast iron, other options are possible, but I wouldn't rule out the EPW.

The screw securing the crank's handle is the only thing I see which might suggest that the plating was done by an outside firm.

The first mention I can find of specially finished machines in Edison literature is Form 235, a machine catalog from the fall of 1901. Although not included in the machine descriptions, here's what appeared on page 45 of this catalog: Strangely, I could find no options for special finishes in Edison's 1902 machine catalog or the either of the 1903 machine catalogs. I don't have a 1904 Edison machine catalog, but by the 12/1/1905 machine catalog (Form 805), the options were listed with each machine - as you can see here: What we know for sure is that in 1902 and 1903, Edison was not advertising specially finished phonographs. Jerry, your machine left the factory about May 1903, which is during this period. Perhaps that accounts for the lack of a signature plate - I don't know. In any event, it was professionally done, and I have no reason to doubt that the plating was done when the machine was new.

Congratulations!

George P.

To add to George Paul's excellent contribution, regarding whether castings were iron or brass. IMHO ( and careful examination/restorations of original machines by yours truly in other collections)the castings were always iron. Brass has a different shrink rate than iron when it comes to castings so different patterns would have been required, and iron is much more stable for precision machinery.

Their original plating process would have involved heavy copper plating first. Then, after much careful prepping and polish work, the gold, or nickel in this case would have been applied. The copper is used to fill in the micro voids and some very small micro porosity, unlike nickel. The casting quality selection too would have been very strict on parts not receiving black paint.

Another note on original machines with nickel plating: If the nickel plating gets damaged over time revealing the copper underneath, it could appear that a casting in question is non ferrous, especially if the exposed copper is tarnished over a century or so.

I believe too that the plating is indeed as old as the machine, but not done at the EPW.

It's still a SEXY machine any day of the week!!! Very cool!

Respectfully submitted.