Fran and George go to the Edison Site

[fran604g]

Are those two console models that are in the last photo from the music section some that were never produced? I don't recogonize the grills but the one looks like a prototype
London but with different grills. I also don't recall those grooved looking legs in the machine behind it.

Larry

I wish I could tell you, Larry!

There was also a Chippendale Upright there that captivated George and I. It had a woodgrain that was really interesting and we couldn't for the life of us figure out exactly what it was. It resembled a "normal" oak type grain, but the grain was HUGE. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photo of it because of it's location.

Fran

[De Soto Frank]

Was the "George" in your company the ever-popular, George F. Paul ?


This is going at the top of my bucket-list.

[fran604g]

Was the "George" in your company the ever-popular, George F. Paul ?


This is going at the top of my bucket-list.

YES!

The one and only original with great Barbizon hair (joking George, please forgive me! )

Fran

[52089]

This is going at the top of my bucket-list.

Go to the Edison site in Ft. Myers, Florida too. Another stunning collection of phonographs.

[Mr Grumpy]

Great pictures. You could make postcards out of most of them!
I myself have been wanting to send a George P. postcard to my family in the States!

[fran604g]

Great pictures. You could make postcards out of most of them!
I myself have been wanting to send a George P. postcard to my family in the States!

Thanks you for the kind words.

I've said it before and I'll say it again (without getting too "mushy"): I'm really fortunate to have George as a friend. He has been more than an inspiration to me. I doubt I would have done a fraction of what I have so far in regards to this wonderful "old phonograph thing".

Fran

[Mr Grumpy]

I'll see your mushy, and raise you a - we're all really fortunate to have each other.

[De Soto Frank]

Fran,

I'm quietly jealous that you live close-enough to hang-out with George !

You had a beautiful day for a field-trip !


Frank

[fran604g]

Fran,

I'm quietly jealous that you live close-enough to hang-out with George !

You had a beautiful day for a field-trip !


Frank

Frank, I think I heard at some point during the show that you were there? I wish I could have met up with you!

Fran

[phonogfp]

Holy Toledo! I spend a couple of hours in the shop and come back upstairs to find THIS???

You guys are very kind, but as I've told Fran several times, having someone nearby who takes an intelligent, enthusiastic interest in antique phonographs is a real treat for me. I'm a teacher at heart, and Fran has allowed me to drone on and on...

I was looking forward to this trip, because I remember my first phonograph show (Union 1980) and my first trip to the Edison site (summer 1978). I could re-live those days vicariously through Fran, and he didn't disappoint. I was, however, surprised at his reaction to the Heavy Machine Shop on the first floor of the lab. Fran is a former machinist, so I figured he'd like it, but... He froze in the door and blurted out something that sounded like, "I didn't know THIS was here!" His face was what you'd expect if Pamela Anderson jumped out of his birthday cake naked. His jaw was hanging open as though he'd been hit in the head.

It was even worse on the second floor where the Precision Machine Shop is located. A friendly docent struck up a conversation, and I mentioned that Fran was a machinist. That was a mistake... For the next 45 minutes, Fran was answering the docents questions about the fine points of some of the machines. I was completely lost in all the terminology...

The third floor is great. I hadn't been there since the renovation, but after studying the old Site photos for decades, it was like meeting a celebrity... "Wow, it's really you..." The experimental horns, the music room, and of course the phonograph display. We showed most of the displayed pieces in Discovering Antique Phonographs, but seeing them in person again was like seeing old (very old!) friends.

By the way, I've decided that when I go to my Great Reward, I'll haunt the third floor thereafter. It will look something like this:

ghost.JPG (81.07 KiB) Viewed 1060 times

Anyway, it was a great weekend, and a nice opportunity to see a number of you at the show.

And if you haven't been to the Edison National Historic Park since the renovation, you really should go. It costs 7 bucks to get in, and well worth it if you have an ounce of historical romance in you. To look at the drafting tables in one of the engineering rooms and realize that the drawings for our Edison Phonograph components were likely created there, is to commune with those ghosts to whom we owe so much. Unlike Camden NJ or Bridgeport CT, the cradle of the Edison Phonograph still exists.

Best to all,
George P.