The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I don't have a tassel on any of my cabinet keys, and I don't leave the keys in the locks. I must be a bad collector

Tassels weren’t debuted on phonographs. It’s a fashion that spilled over from other furniture keys, and was big in Italy and France. Think large wardrobes, secretary desks, and other cabinet-esque things. Why? Same reason anything else has tassels or fringe, it’s just a decorative accent. I say, if you like tassels...go nuts. I used to have them when my decor was Victorian, but now I’ve transitioned to more of a Craftsman/Traditional style and they look out of place.

but now I’ve transitioned to more of a Craftsman/Traditional style and they look out of place.

Personally, I'm not hassled by tassels. It's true that they would look wrong on Craftsman furniture. But on Louis the XVth or Rococco furniture like an Amberola 1, they look fine. I have a four poster "rice" bed in cherry wood, and I have tassels on all four posts. It's for people like me who like color and accent. Of course most phonographs don't have key holes, so they don't have tassels. But for those that do, it's like putting on a tie vs. going without. You wouldn't want to see a dignified phonograph like an Amberola 1 be seen without a tie, would you?

I do like the look and they do dress up a plain cabinet or phonograph but my personal taste is more minimal.
So no tassels at my house.

I have tassels on all of my Victrola's-adds a little dressy touch (the cherry on the sundae!). Makes it much easier to keep track of the key.

Interestingly polarizing topic!

We have only a small number of machines-with-keys so the ITQ (Installed Tassel Quotient) is relatively low here, and they are small in size. There are a couple of armoires in here that won't open at all unless the key is jiggled and thus they have tassels too. So I'll vote for the loss prevention, plus splash of color, functions.

The tassels don't necessarily clash with a craftsman décor when small and simple, but certainly the more florid and over-decorated machines like the gilded vv-xx sort of thing definitely need big loud ones to complete that look.

This li'l Roycroft jug has its original, (sort of) tasselly, little tie on it - so perhaps it's not entirely necessary to ban tassels from our craftsman bungalows, either.

PS: I've just resolved to jump Jerry at the next meet, and festoon him with tassels (utilizing Krazy Glue). I'll possibly need your help.

I think I got the idea to use tassels from an article in the Antique Phonograph magazine. Though a little is a lot so I hear. So I have some small ones compared to the giant ones I often see on facebook. Just a decoration and no harm no fowl as some say.

vansteem78 wrote:no harm no fowl as some say.

Hey, leave the birds out of it!