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Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2012 6:01 pm
by USlakeside
Anyone out there an avid photo collector? I notice these original pictures on ebay from time to time. For me, they are in a way just as interesting at a real phonograph because you see the settings in which they were used. Seems like a nice vein of the hobby (and way cheaper!)

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 9:23 pm
by tonystardis
I do collect photos but have not bought any from Ebay.I collect from flea market,garage sales and auction.So far I have only come across one or two teens or 20's european photos of an outside horn machine sitting on the mantle blocked by someone standing in front of it. You would figure something that was such a huge part of life then was photographed so little,I've found way more candlestick phones.
Way cheaper sometimes and you could fit many more in a collection. The right photo may not talk like a real life talking machine but could really speak volumes.

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:58 pm
by VintageTechnologies
Family photos with the horn phonographs prominently displayed do exist, but they are very hard to find. Those Kansas farmers were mighty proud of their Edisons! I knew a collector once that had assembled a large photo album full of them. He wanted a fortune for them, so I sadly had to pass. Nor would he consider allowing me to scan the photos.

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 2:44 pm
by Lenoirstreetguy
Here's one from the around 1920 , I would say, given the phonograph and the electric fixture. It's a post card which reads Sunday is a day of rest: note the pipe. I don't know where it's from but for some reason I just don't think it's Canadian, much as I found it up here. The machine is an off-brander and as you can see it is in fact playing. Even though it's a post card, it was never mailed and hence there's no clue as to where it originated. He's taken off his collar, cozied up by the stove as he smokes what looks like "Prince Albert" in that amazingly Germanic pipe!

Jim

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:34 pm
by gramophone78
Although I posted this original photo in the past. It does fit in this thread. Some little boy as sure happy with the new "toy".
1904 Child With Edison Standard.JPG

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:52 pm
by gramophoneshane
That pyramid of 2 minute cylinders is a little fightening. You wouldn't want to sneeze or you'd have a lot of smashed records on the floor :shock:

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 2:48 pm
by Henry
Lenoirstreetguy wrote:Here's one from the around 1920 , I would say, given the phonograph and the electric fixture. It's a post card which reads Sunday is a day of rest: note the pipe. I don't know where it's from but for some reason I just don't think it's Canadian, much as I found it up here. The machine is an off-brander and as you can see it is in fact playing. Even though it's a post card, it was never mailed and hence there's no clue as to where it originated. He's taken off his collar, cozied up by the stove as he smokes what looks like "Prince Albert" in that amazingly Germanic pipe!

Jim
Whatever he's smoking or listening to, it must be a "hair-raising" experience for him---or is it just a trick of the lighting that he seems to be "electrified"? :o

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:32 pm
by Lenoirstreetguy
Here's another post card that is indeed Canadian. The machine is a Berliner G ( I think..) sitting on the end of the sewing machine. It doesn't look exactly like an early G but the Berliner cabinets varied in the production runs. The calendar is from a Huntsvillle Ontario merchant. This has to be taken in January or February of 1910,( or later in the teens) from what I can see of the calendar date. It just might be his machine. By 1910 or '11 that model would be just obsolete enough that it could be given to a kid. Too bad the boy moved.

Jim

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 11:38 pm
by Roaring20s
gramophone78 wrote:Although I posted this original photo in the past. It does fit in this thread. Some little boy as sure happy with the new "toy".
Great photo, and with a little adjusting... Voila!
little lord.2.jpg
little lord.2.jpg (111.95 KiB) Viewed 4504 times
James.

Re: Period Pictures of Phonographs?

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:02 am
by Orchorsol
Roaring20s wrote:
gramophone78 wrote:Although I posted this original photo in the past. It does fit in this thread. Some little boy as sure happy with the new "toy".
Great photo, and with a little adjusting... Voila!
James.
That's great! Ha, the cylinder box the lad is holding looks just like a beer can - how inappropriate!