Edison Attachment-Real or Fake

[tubaphone]

This ad showed up awhile back for an Edison C-190 and out of curiosity I clicked on it and was stunned to see this attachment on the machine. It had an Edison outdoor attachment on it. According to the Frow DD book this attachment was made by Charles Edison as a prototype and never reached production. The one pictured in Frow's book has a wooden Music Master horn on it but otherwise looks identical to this one. If this is fake it is a very good one, the elbow that the No. 11 Cygnet bell is attached to looks just like the picture in Frow as does the reproducer. Has anyone ever seen one of these? Here is a picture from the ad, this does not belong to me nor do I have anymore information on it. Also the picture is not very good so it is very hard to make out some details when it's magnified. What do you think?

[fran604g]

Well, I think it's very interesting. C-190 or C-19? Is this a typo?

I would hope that someone took it away from the junk pile in that garage and thoroughly examined it to see if the reproducer was legitimate or just a home-brew. If it is legitimate, it would be an extreme rarity. It wouldn't surprise me if some third-party manufacturer tried to market a gizmo like this, and it wouldn't surprise me if some dealer or owner in the past decided to modify the reproducer on his own, either.

Where was the ad? I'd love to see more pictures of this Chippendale.

Best,
Fran

[fran604g]

Another thing to keep in mind: the Phonograph shown in Frow's book is the "Modern Renaissance" cabinet that was used for the A-250 and B-250. I don't believe the picture in Frow's book is an A-250 (Type A mechanism), it seems more likely to me that the attachment would have been a better fit for the Type B mechanism in the B-250, and it seems that the time period he discusses in relation to the topic, supports my assumption - and would have been sometime in 1915.

Frow states that the attachment (promoted by Charles Edison) was not supported by John Constable, and he was the engineer that designed and ultimately patented the Type B mechanism (No. 1,304,158 Apr. 19, 1915) so his opinion would most certainly have carried a lot of weight.

One has to assume that if an attachment was ever actually made for the B-250, it could most certainly have been produced to fit on a C-250, C-19, etc.

However, a healthy dose of skepticism needs to be administered.

Best,
Fran

[phonogfp]

I agree that I'm highly skeptical as to the originality of this. HOWEVER, it it were anywhere near me, I'd be checking it out in person, because stranger things have happened!

George P.

[martinola]

If it actually worked well, it might be cool to have even if it was a fake. On the other hand, carting a C-19 out to the garden for a tea party might be a serious drag.

- Martin

[NEFaurora]

Now that' something you don't see everyday!

At least he used all Edison parts!!....lol....

I'd say that a little Too much weight on that Diamond Reproducer!!!

Still, I'd like to see some close-up pics of it to see how someone came up with this concoction!

"The one pictured in Frow's book has a wooden Music Master horn on it but otherwise looks identical to this one."

Maybe he had a copy of Frow's book lying around and an extra Cygnet horn lying around..????

)

Tony K.

Edison Collector/Restorer

[fran604g]

If it actually worked well, it might be cool to have even if it was a fake. On the other hand, carting a C-19 out to the garden for a tea party might be a serious drag.

- Martin

Imagine mounting a set of wheels under the rear of the cabinet and mounting some sort of handle to the back.

"Schoolhouse Chippendale!"

Fran

[howardpgh]

I would picture something like that in a dance hall or ballroom.

[Curt A]

It looks like some sort of crane is holding this up, thus no extra weight on the reproducer...

[Lucius1958]

If it actually worked well, it might be cool to have even if it was a fake. On the other hand, carting a C-19 out to the garden for a tea party might be a serious drag.

- Martin

Imagine mounting a set of wheels under the rear of the cabinet and mounting some sort of handle to the back.

"Schoolhouse Chippendale!"

Fran

Even when Edison contemplated a Schoolhouse DD machine (and apparently built a prototype in 1922), they didn't provide it with anything better than castors.

Perhaps they assumed that the kids would come to the Phonograph, instead of vice versa....

Bill