Edison B-250 in Amberola Cabinet

phonogfp · Post by **phonogfp** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:05 pm

One thing's for sure - the early Pooley Amberola cabinets never carried an "Edison" script decal in their lids. If that decal is original, it's another argument for a factory job.

George P.

martinola · Post by **martinola** » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:25 pm

I love stuff like this! It's like the machine is telling us its story. I'll be interested in seeing anything else you find.

Martin

Post by **fran604g** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:49 am

phonogfp wrote:One thing's for sure - the early Pooley Amberola cabinets never carried an "Edison" script decal in their lids. If that decal is original, it's another argument for a factory job.

George P.

Hiya fellas,

In regard to this being a "factory job", I'd have to wonder how a cabinet of this vintage would have survived the great fire in December, 1914, when so little else had not been destroyed.

Happy Holidays!

Fran

DGPros · Post by **DGPros** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 6:59 am

Here's todays theory. It was originally purchased as an amberola in 1910-11. The owner decided around 1918 or so to "upgrade" to a DD machine. Since it was an early cabinet, maybe the easiest and least expensive and confusing option at the time was to mark it as such. Anyone know off hand when the C version reproducer was being sold? The lid is still quite the conundrum though.It sure does seem to be an original lid so there was no swapping out there I believe. The last thing i need is another DD upright, but i just HAD to get this one.

I still have no clue on how to take the drawers out. There's a metal dowel that runs above the wooden groove.It stops the drawer from falling out. I can't see anyway to lift it, twist it, etc. out. I stayed home sick today, so I hope to examine it some more between bouts with the couch. Thanks for the well wishes too guys!

phonogfp · Post by **phonogfp** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:16 am

fran604g wrote: Hiya fellas,

In regard to this being a "factory job", I'd have to wonder how a cabinet of this vintage would have survived the great fire in December, 1914, when so little else had not been destroyed.

Happy Holidays!

Fran

Fran, there are a number of instances cited in Frow where quantities of cabinets remained after the fire (for instance, the Amberola VI cabinets which were then equipped with the new 50 mechanism). I wonder if some cabinets might have been stored off-site in nearby warehouses. Further evidence of surviving cabinets can be seen on page 224 of Discovering Antique Phonographs, where Thomas Edison's personal phonograph is shown in a full-page image. It consists of a Herzog-built Amberola 1A cabinet of 1909/10 with a post-1915 Disc mechanism.

Happy Holidays to all!

George P.

Post by **fran604g** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:12 am

phonogfp wrote:
fran604g wrote: Hiya fellas,

In regard to this being a "factory job", I'd have to wonder how a cabinet of this vintage would have survived the great fire in December, 1914, when so little else had not been destroyed.

Happy Holidays!

Fran
Fran, there are a number of instances cited in Frow where quantities of cabinets remained after the fire (for instance, the Amberola VI cabinets which were then equipped with the new 50 mechanism). I wonder if some cabinets might have been stored off-site in nearby warehouses. Further evidence of surviving cabinets can be seen on page 224 of Discovering Antique Phonographs, where Thomas Edison's personal phonograph is shown in a full-page image. It consists of a Herzog-built Amberola 1A cabinet of 1909/10 with a post-1915 Disc mechanism.

Happy Holidays to all!

George P.

A very good explanation, thank you, George!

Happy Holidays!

Fran

Hailey · Post by **Hailey** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:23 am

If you want to put it back to an Amberola...I have a complete A1 motor that may be of interest to you.

Steve Levi · Post by **Steve Levi** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:00 am

I have another suggestion on this machine concerning the lid. An early Pooley cabinet would not have an Edison script decal, which has been pointed out. I suggest that a B-250 lid was married to that early cabinet. That would at least explain the Edison script decal on the lid. Pictures of lid will tell the story. T

DGPros · Post by **DGPros** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:18 am

Hailey wrote:If you want to put it back to an Amberola...I have a complete A1 motor that may be of interest to you.

That has crossed my mind. After all, it looks like it did start its life that way

DGPros · Post by **DGPros** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 11:23 am

Here are a couple pictures of the top. There are matching #'s on the top and bottom by the lid hing. So I would safely assume these are original to each other. I did one pass of goop on the lid. Still no signs of an Amberola logo even under bright lights. It seems someone must have spilled some alcohol based substance since you can see the shellac has worn/evaporated away in some spots. It also looks like someone in the past had tried to clean it up and fix it with some kind of paint? The lid lift has been repositioned at some point. I don't know if all this is pertinent, but thinking someone may notice something I over looked.