Which model Talkophone is this?

[Howerd]

Hey that's a great shame - I've been looking for a right one of then critters for years !

Are you shure it's assembled and not just poorly made in the first place ?

I can't believe a dealer in these times won't accept an offer for a 3rd rate machine - he must be nuts !

It's not an Indian repro is it ?

Bless

Howerd

[Shane]

Wow, there is some info in this thread I didn't know at all. I bought a talk-o-phone a few years ago with a cabinet that was completely messed up. The veneer was heavily water damaged.

And now, confession time: I found one of those un-drilled cabinets on ebay, bought it, and dropped the works into it. Evidently, someone had used this as a sort of jewelery box at one point- there is a green felt pad glued into the bottom. It's a nice looking machine now, much better than the wreck I originally bought.

[Steve]

Haha....so maybe I should have bought this machine, waited until an un-drilled cabinet appeared and VOILA! got myself a perfect Talkophone!

I doubt I'd have succeeded somehow. Given the crime you've just admitted to committing there, Shane, i think you've answered one of my questions. It's not so much whether a Talkophone machine is original or not so much as the question should be 'how long has it been original?'

No wonder you guys appear to have little interest in machines made by this company. They're a kind of D.I.Y. talking machine.

[Shane]

Honestly, from what I have observed there is actually a lot of interest in these machines, at least on ebay (maybe not here though?). I have seen auctions even for spare parts from these machines go for some pretty good sums of money.

And yes, these were sort of D.I.Y. machines from the beginning. My understanding is that after the lawsiut, Columbia ended up being awarded the company's stock of parts. They used the parts to produce mail order machines that had no brand name on them whatsoever. The old cabinet that I replaced was this way.

It is much harder than you might think to drill the proper holes in an undrilled cabinet. Getting the hole properly placed for the crank was a pretty scary thing, as once you close the lid on the box, you can't see at what longitude/latitude the crank shaft sits. And if you mess it up, there are no do-overs. I got lucky with mine!

[Steve]

That's a very smart front mount Clarke you've got there, Shane, thanks for sharing the picture.

Looking at it makes me more than a little

Talkophone confuses me. I've read now that Eagle produced these machines and I've heard that Columbia sold them mail order. What that machine was originally is difficult to ascertain.

Strikes me no one has the definitive answer?

[Sidewinder]

It's disappointing especially considering that the dealer wasn't prepared to budge on price even when the fault was pointed out to him!

Dear Steve,

With all respect, I have had contact with the dealer you mention, and it has always been an immense pleasure to do business with him. From my experience he is always forthcoming, without any prompting, to point out imperfections in any machine that I have enquired about. I'm positive that the price he was asking was commensurate with the quality of the machine? I think all our collecting friends in the UK are VERY lucky to have someone like him in the trade, who not only deals correctly in the items we like to collect, but also who's knowledge & passion on the subject is incredible.

[Steve]

With all respect, I have had contact with the dealer you mention, and it has always been an immense pleasure to do business with him. From my experience he is always forthcoming, without any prompting, to point out imperfections in any machine that I have enquired about. I'm positive that the price he was asking was commensurate with the quality of the machine? I think all our collecting friends in the UK are VERY lucky to have someone like him in the trade, who not only deals correctly in the items we like to collect, but also who's knowledge & passion on the subject is incredible.

That's very positive.

[Howerd]

I Have to respond to what Sidewinder says - as you all should know by now if Steve makes a point or a comment it is a FACT and not Hearsay, innuendo or conjecture he may not be the world's greatest expert on Talkophone (but then who is ?) but he certainly knows when summat ain't right !

He has been dealing with that dealer and many many others for 18 years - you don't get that for Homicide ! so I repeat HE KNOWS what he says ! he ALWAYS puts his money where his mouth and opinion is and has spent more money on phonographs that many many collectors and I for one value his opinion above ANYONE in the UK .

Bless

Howard

[Steve]

Close inspection has revealed that this machine is built up of Talkophone parts from two eras. I have lowered the price to that of a decorative 'Swissie' to make a sale to someone happy to pay for a highly decorative item that is not 100% correct!

Take a look at the above quote; it comes from the listing details for this 'Talkophone' machine on the newly updated website of Howard Hope in London. I hope Sidewinder is making notes!

[Uncle Vanya]

A fascinating and revealing answer. Thank you for your time and input.

So was 'Eagle Talking Machine Co.' a contemporary of Talkophone or did it simply use Talkophone hardware AFTER the demise of the latter company? Is the cabinet pictured above a genuine Talkophone piece or an Eagle piece, is it possible to identify? Should the above cabinet have any identifying trademarks in order to date it and provide provenance? I'm slightly confused by what you've said. If the 'genuinely original' Eagle machines are normally found in plain cases, does this mean this might be a genuine Eagle machine but one which was re-housed into an earlier and more decorative Talkophone cabinet. Is the so-called 'Eagle' cabinet above a Talkophone commissioned piece at all?

There is scant information on the web about Talkophone and some ID's are clearly misleading. I therefore assume (without wishing to be the next victim of the Paramount / Wooden Chair Leg Company research saga ) that few collectors know much about either company and along with these machines, this makes me even more curious to find out more. If I was to buy a Talkophone / Eagle I would simply like to know what it is I've bought and to understand a little more about how it came about.

Thanks again and I hope you can answer my further questions.
Steve

Well, Talk-O-Phone was nominally headquartered in Toledo, OH, with final assembly being done in that city, although the manufacture of the cabinets and many mechanical parts was done in Cleveland OH by the White interests.

The Leeds and other Talk-O-Phone affiliated records generally derived from Hawthorn and Sheble masters (American, Star, International) as did the Eagle discs. The physical appearance of Leeds and Eagle discs is consistent with H & S Springfield MA pressings.

The Eagle machines appear to have been sold by the Babcock interests, the same Cleveland folks who slightly later brought us the U. S. Everlasting records and machines. When Johnny Boehm found the horde of NOS U. S. machines and parts in a Lakewood Ohio carriage house in the 1970's (the former owner of the house had been a principal in the Babcock Soda Fountain concern) he also found a large group of obviously new Eagle disc records and two of the (un-branded) Eagle machines in the beaded cabinets.