Your First Phonograph - Share Your Story

[Ampico66]

While visiting a collector here in St. Louis, I was treated to the story of his first machine that sparked his interest decades ago. I like stories like that and would like to hear yours.

My first was an English HMV green portable from the late 1930s. I paid $35 for it at an antique mall and I was 17, this was 1998. A friend fixed its broken spring for me. Soon thereafter I bought a Victrola X with my birthday money when I turned 18. The same friend then taught me how to rebuild phonograph motors myself. He owned a Victrola table top, model VI, which was the first acoustic talking machine I was ever exposed to. Soon thereafter I saw John Johnson's collection in Fowlerville, Michigan. John and Ken taught me a lot about machines. Naturally I came to own dozens of Victrolas and other upright internal horn talking machines in the years that followed. Most importantly I learned about how to find good records for the machines when I met Sean Miller in Albany, NY in 2005. I was finally able to build a record collection worth listening to!

I'm interested in teaching people how to work on Victrolas, but have never found a pupil!

Damon Atchison
St. Louis, MO

[transformingArt]

My first machine was a Japanese Victor Victrola J1-50, which I got from my grandfather (on my mother's side). He also gave me about 1,500 78s which he collected when he was young. I still own the machine, and it shows obvious signs of age - anyway, it survived the Korean War (since it was too big and heavy to carry for the evacuation, my grandfather have to bury it in his backyard.)

Anyway, it works fine even for today, except the fact there's a severe scar on the back (the Wartime damage) and I cannot use the damaged the gold-plated Original Soundbox (I have bought three more soundboxes for this machine)

Here's the photo of the machine.

[Ampico66]

今は日本へすんでいますか？

[Shane]

My first phonograph was a Victrola 1-1, which is a small low end table model from around 1925. It was "fully restored" by a local dealer and didn't work worth a hill of beans. The motor had no power. Years later I attempted to "restore" it, and even though I'm rather experienced at working on phonographs, the motor emerged completely jammed up. I sent it off to a reputable phonograph repair shop, who brought it back to its original "restored" state (i.e. almost no power and can't make it through a record most of the time.) I haven't really messed with it since then. What a heap of junk.

I'm glad I've gotten better phonographs since then.

[transformingArt]

今は日本へすんでいますか？

No, I'm a Korean - as I mentioned on my profile in YouTube and so forth. This phonograph was bought by my grandfather who attended University in Japan - actually, I know the exact date he bought this machine, September 16th, 1935.

Anyway, I wonder why do you ask such a thing? (No offense here, just curious)

[larryh]

Frankly this is a hard one I owned so many machines back in the days where it was common around the St. Louis area to pick them up for a dollar or less. I think I may have actually owned a Brunswick Portable I found somewhere first, but it never worked as it had a bad reproducer someone had butchered. It was a Panatrope. But when I worked at the old Stix Baer and Fuller department store during high school that I was surprised to see a wonderful Victor 400 sitting up in the bargain furniture department. The story went that an elderly customer had purchased it new as it had the Stix logo decal in the rear of the record player compartment. She had decided in the late 50's to upgrade to a new stereo system and the store allowed her a 25.00 trade in on her machine. It was in like new condition except that it had a tendency to operate rather noisily from the motor for some reason that in those days I never was able to figure out and people working on phonographs that knew anything about them was not yet possible.

I don't really know what happened to it or when, I just know that at some point fairly long ago I sold it to someone when I tired of having too many sitting around.

Larry

[OrthoSean]

Most importantly I learned about how to find good records for the machines when I met Sean Miller in Albany, NY in 2005. I was finally able to build a record collection worth listening to!

Damon Atchison
St. Louis, MO

Aw, shucks!

Just remember, Damon, collecting records is a never ending battle, especially when lack of shelving and storage becomes an issue. One which I'm trying to remedy right now!

My first windup machine was a cobbled together portable my parents bought me for my 10th birthday at an antique show for $50 in 1983. It was a mess but I loved it. I used that thing constantly until the spring broke and my Dad and I tried to fix it. He finally did and I was back in business. A few months later, while visiting a friend of my Grandfather's, I noticed a floor model "Amerinola" machine in their basement filled with records. The spring was broken. I asked the man if he would sell me the machine and he told me "no". I went home that night really heartbroken, I mean here was this cool victrola sitting in a dark basement broken and not being used and I wanted it. A few days later, I came home from school like I did every day and went up to my bedroom to play a couple of records on my portable. On my way upstairs, I suddenly heard music coming from my father's workshop. I ran downstairs and there was the "Amerinola"! Turned out the old guy gave it to my Dad who took it to work and repaired the spring then brought it back home as a surprise to me. I loved that machine, but as years passed and I bought all sorts of others, I ended up selling it as I found nicer ones. Ah, memories!

Sean

[wheelgun357]

Wow my first phonograph... I remember it like it was yesterday... i was 12 years old and was in my friends fathers antique shop here in Philly after school one day, his father asked us if we could help him move some small things from the basement of the store up to the floor as he had just bought the contents of a house out... so while we were down there i saw a Victor VV-80 not knowing much at 12 i asked what it was.. when i saw i was infatuated with it, the cabinet was not in the best shape all the veneer had started to lift and peel but i still wanted it. i asked his dad what he would sell it to me for and he said 50.00 which i could work off that day helping around the shop and that if i did a really good job he would give me the PILE of records 78's that he had accumulated overthe last few years in buisness... so at the end of the day my Father came to pick me up and he saw what i had "bought", he was like "oh boy here we go, your mother is gonna kill you" so i got it home cleaned it and started to peel all the veneer off and sand it and refinish it.... well i was proud for a 12 year old and that machine served me well till i was 17 had a good job (working in my friends fathers antique store) 30 hours a week plus working on the side as a shooting range assistant at nights.... i managed to find a beautiful Edison C-250 (which i still have) and it was full of records, has the attachment for playing lateral discs and tons of other goodies... i payed a hefty sum of 650.00 for everything and at the same time that seller has a VV-80 cabinet that was perfect just it was gutted for the motor tone arm etc... so i bought the cabinet for 50.00 and well you know what happened next,,,, goodbye old stripped 80 and hello new one with my parts in it./... i kept that vv-80 till i was 25 when i traded it for a solid oak rifle diaplay cabinet,,,,.... there have been lots of other machines over those years and some stayed for as little as a month some as long as 2-3 years.... but man oh man those early years and all that enjoyment that the original vv-80 gave me.... and the best part is i still have all 8 album books that were in it the day i got it with all the records that were in it that day.... BTW as a funny side note,, i started smoking when i was 12 and i used to hide my pack of cigarettes inside the horn where my parents wouldnt think of looking... turns out my father was telling me some time ago that he and my mother knew i was hiding them in there since i was 15.... they just never said anything about it........

[bbphonoguy]

My first phonograph was also a VV 1-1, only by the time mine was manufactured it was being called a "Victrolita". It came from a barn sale down the road. I was about 12 years old, and very happy to have it. One day the ratchet for the crank broke and the crank would just spin out of control after the motor was wound, so I would have to put some heavy object behind the crank to keep it in place while listening to records. I sold it years ago.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

I've told the story about the bunnies and the C 250 so many times that I'm expecting every eye to be rolling , but since Easter is coming I'll give it another outing. I was nine years old and one of our neighbours back in rural Ontario had an Edison C250 upon which their woodshed had collapsed. The machine was summarily exiled to the back yard and spent the summer under an elm tree by their garage. The first time I saw it I knew it had to be mine. I went over day after day after school to play it al fresco. It was fate, kismet, karma: we were destined to be together and I was lucky that I owned two white rabbits...left over from Easter...which won the heart of the son of the Edison house. The deal was sealed and my father, grumbling the entire time, hauled the Edison home. It came with approximately 150 diamond discs all of which I still own. I was in heaven: the bunnies were carrot chewing bores compared to Albert Spalding , Marie Rappold, Ada Jones and the American Symphony Orchestra. It was a portal to another world.
And the machine? It's in storage and it still looks as if a woodshed had fallen on it, but I still own it and some day I plan to do one of those insanely time consuming restorations of a not particularly rare machine because as we all know, one's first love always has a special spot in one's heart.
Jim.
PS The gentleman at the back with the school teacher on his knee was the original owner of the C250! His name was Frank Young.