The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

No, I mean the "white as snow" mould growth mentioned by Carlos.

Following Roger's advice, I just sent a request to the auction house to provide either photos or a report on the condition of the cylinders. Let's wait and see if they answer ...

Here's the reply to my request, below. The photos are not very helpful, they only show the top of the cylinders. The response below states that there is no mould, according to a collector that saw them.

Bonjour monsieur,

J’étais ce matin à notre entrepôt pour faire des photos complémentaires à des clients...
Vous trouverez ci joint des photos de cylindre du lot 358, plutôt représentatif de l'ensemble de la vente.

Un collectionneur spécialisé est venu aujourd’hui pour constater que l’ensemble est en bon état. Quelques manques, mais pas de moisissures.

Je reste à votre disposition.

Merci de votre patience.

What must be borne in mind is that this particular auction house seems to have little or zero experience in selling phonographs gramophones etc., judging by their catalogue descriptions and lack of pertinent photos for each lot ( each lot in the first sale had only one photo even for the online catalogue ). That of course in itself is not unusual among auction houses -- some are very customer friendly , others less so ! but to be fair to them , they cannot really be expected to give a fair evaluation of every cylinder in a particular lot where many cylinders are included -- any prospective buyer really needs to view in person -- after all , what records may be of interest to one buyer for whatever reason will not necessarily appeal to another buyer. Condition also is subjective -- what is acceptable to one person may not be to another and as to condition reports -- the auction house " specialist " surely will not be aware that mould on a cylinder is a problem -- he may well think it can be cleaned off with no ill effect to the record ! No doubt the cylinders , of which there are several lots in the sale , have been grouped together more or less at random , by quantity only ,so there is bound to be some goodies in every lot possibly. Just for the record ( no pun intended ! ) I emailed the auction house with an enquiry about shipping costs for certain machines offered the first sale ,as they mention on their website that they have a recommended shipping agent -- I emailed both the auction house and the shipping agent around 2 weeks before the sale date -- the shipping agent sent a standard reply which told me nothing and the auction house replied ONE day before the sale , despite me emailing a reminder.
If they can't even bother to reply in a courteous and timely manner , that signals to me the possibility of later troubles if I was to buy any lots. As my father used to say of some auction rooms , " ..... they earn their money too easily ". He was right ! Dulcetto

I agree with all you mentioned above, I did not bother to bid, my money would be better invested in a lottery ticket!

Yup, bidding in this one is like playing the lotto. What a terrible job from the auction house.

I was being facetious with my description, as some sellers don't realize that actual mould will not wash off with soap and water...

"Bonjour monsieur,
J’étais ce matin à notre entrepôt pour faire des photos complémentaires à des clients...
Vous trouverez ci joint des photos de cylindre du lot 358, plutôt représentatif de l'ensemble de la vente.
Un collectionneur spécialisé est venu aujourd’hui pour constater que l’ensemble est en bon état. Quelques manques, mais pas de moisissures.
Je reste à votre disposition.
Merci de votre patience."

Translation:
Hello sir,
I was at our warehouse this morning to take additional photos for customers ...
You will find attached photos of the cylinder from lot 358, rather representative of the entire sale.
A specialist collector came today to find that the whole is in good condition. Some lacks, but no mold.
I remain at your disposal.
Thank you for your patience.