Inventory of Beethoven and Schubert Edisonic phonographs

[marcapra]

George, could you share with what some of the better records are that came with it? Thanks, Marc.

[phonogfp]

Rather than clutter this thread with an off-topic listing of records, I have answered in the "Music" section here:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =3&t=23501

There are 36 records in original sleeves, but very dusty. You can tell these records spent much of their lives in an attic! Condition is uniformly VG+/E. Evidently, the original owner was unmarried when she first obtained the Schubert and records, since her name and address is written on one of the sleeves prefixed with "Miss." I confirmed with the seller that this young woman was indeed her grandmother. One of the sleeves also has a penciled inscription that reads, "Al Smith for president!"

George P.

[fran604g]

The new Schubert is No.5451.

The seller is the granddaughter of the original owner. The machine has sat in the attic of the grandmother's house for decades and is complete, unmolested, and in very nice condition. It went straight upstairs into the collection, as all it needs is a light cleanup and lubrication (which is good because my shop is full!).

A two and a half hour drive each way, but I'd do it again just for the records.

It's been a long time since I bought something out of a house!

Best to all,
George P.

...and what a beauty it is, too! I'm pretty excited for you George, and what a fine day it was for a drive that long!

Fran

[phonogfp]

Thanks, Fran. I'm glad you were willing/able to come with me. Fall days don't come much more beautiful, and of course the phonograph aspect didn't hurt either! Today it's...SNOWING.

I'm excited for you to take possession of Schubert No.3020, which was brought back from the brink and which I've owned for almost 7 years. With its Rochester pedigree, you're really the right guy to have it now.

George P.

[fran604g]

Thanks, Fran. I'm glad you were willing/able to come with me. Fall days don't come much more beautiful, and of course the phonograph aspect didn't hurt either! Today it's...SNOWING.

I'm excited for you to take possession of Schubert No.3020, which was brought back from the brink and which I've owned for almost 7 years. With its Rochester pedigree, you're really the right guy to have it now.

George P.

Thank you, George it's funny how things work out sometimes. Not only the local Levis Music connection, but also the family trumpet from Levis connection. Pretty cool!

The "Schubert Shuffle" (if there is such a thing).

Fran

[pughphonos]

It's been really gratifying to see the developments of the past few days in "Edisonicland." Schubert #5451 has emerged from an attic into George's possession, and Schubert #3020 has now seen its way from George to Fran. Fran, you're evidently come to the same conclusion as several of the rest of us: if owning one Edisonic is fun, owning two is twice the fun.

Though some Edisonics will never emerge from deep storage during our lifetimes, it's still encouraging to see the slow but steady stream since this thread began; I'm still willing to bet that there are easily around 300 Edisonics out there altogether...and perhaps ultimately 500 or more.

I've not updated the Edisonic index since June, but will definitely do so by week's end.

Ralph

[Kirkwood]

Edisonic02.jpg (24.5 KiB) Viewed 2175 times

Let's add this latest one to your list of Edisonics.


Model: Edisonic Schubert
Serial Number: 1958
Date Purchased: November 5, 2015
Purchased from: Auction out in Winchester VA; the listing noted that they were selling contents of an estate in Leesburg VA "and others"
Condition: Very, very nice original. No veneer issues, almost no cabinet damage save for a light overall crazing, one small scratch in the lid that will (I hope) polish out. The original grill fabric is intact and presentable with only a bit of "white line fading" near the bottom.
Modifications? None, no LP device installed.

This was not a planned purchase. A friend who is an antique/junque dealer was headed to this auction and emailed me the pics of this and another machine. He bought both in my behalf and delivered them to me as well. Such service! The pics shown were saved to my computer from the auction house web site the day of the auction. This Schubert came with the records shown, none of them were the electrically recorded series, although a few are quite fun earlier discs. Some have curious white wax pencil notations in the blank area near the label, such as "very loud", "amazing fidelity", etc.

By the way, the other machine I got was the unusual Orthophonic Revere Victrola---the one with the horn that faces the floor. I didn't appreciate just how LARGE this machine is! It's more of a hutch or china cabinet in size. At $70 (and NO buyer's penalty) I think it was a good deal. The 4 albums of records that went with it were another matter. I missed out on those at $225!

Kirk (a.k.a. "kirkwood")

[fran604g]

Let's add this latest one to your list of Edisonics. Kirk (a.k.a. "kirkwood")

Congratulations! Your Schubert looks beautiful and to be in very, very nice condition. When you get time, would you please post some more pictures (details, details... ) of the instrument and the titles of the records in a separate thread?

I'm sure we'd all like to see more.

Best,
Fran

[pughphonos]

UPDATED INDEX (AS OF November 19, 2015) TO POSTINGS:

SERIAL NUMBERS of machines posted above (and some below), arranged in order (with dates of posting):

BEETHOVEN EDISONICS:
1049 (11/13/2015 & 11/15/2015); 1121 (4/30/2014); 1150 (4/25/2014);
1200 (03/8/2015); 1220 (4/25/2014); 1238 (4/29/2014);
1262 (4/25/2014); 1316 (4/25/2014 & 9/1/2015 & 11/15/2015);
1757 (4/25/2014 & 11/19/2015); 1853 (4/23/2014); 1898 (4/21/2014);
1977 (6/20/2014 & 7/1/2014 & 4/6/2015 & 6/4/2015 & 8/6/2015);
2036 (4/25/2014); 2157 (4/22/2014); 2292? (4/21/2014);
2488 (5/1/2014); 2491 (7/12/2014 & 6/2/2015); 2641 (5/14/2014)

SCHUBERT EDISONICS:
1020 (6/2/2015); 1108 (8/7/2015); 1150 (4/25/2014); 1187 (4/24/2014);
1216 (4/25/2014, 4/26/2014 & 5/4/2014); 1217 (4/28/2014 & 5/4/2014);
1246 (4/21/2014); 1329 (5/1/2014 & 05/6/2014); 1394 (4/25/2014);
1441 (4/25/2014); 1537 (6/5/2015); 1556 (4/22/2014 & 5/2/2015);
1596 (7/22/2014); 1656 (4/25/2014); 1672 (7/30/2014);
1765 (4/23/2015 & 4/25/2015); 1844 (3/11/2015 & 5/3/2015 & 9/17/2015);
1897 (5/14/2014); 1902 (4/22/2014); 1913 (4/25/2014);
1958 (4/27/2014 & 11/8/2015 & 11/15/2015); 2002 (4/25/2014);
2010 (4/28/2014); 2058 (4/25/2014); 2288 (4/22/2014 & 5/1/2014);
2673 (4/24/2014 & 5/29/2014); 2723 (4/23/2014); 2773 (9/1/2015);
2982 (4/25/2014); 3020 (4/22/2014 & 10/18/2015); 3023 (4/25/2014);
3398 (4/21/2014); 3618 (4/21/2014); 3621 (5/18/2014);
3675 (4/21/2014); 3835 (6/4/2015 & 11/30/2015); 3919 (7/7/2014);
4005 (4/22/2014); 4129 (4/22/2014); 4157 (8/4/2015 & 9/1/2015);
4246 (4/25/2014); 4484 (4/25/2014); 4752 (4/21/2014);
4869 (4/29/2014); 5056 (4/22/2014 & 5/23/2014);
5451 (10/15/2015 & 10/17/2015); 5653 (4/21/2014);
5670 (05/6/2014 & 5/19/2014); 5678 (4/28/2014 & 8/8/2015);
6025 (4/30/2014 & 6/21/2014)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NON-SERIAL NUMBER DESIGNATION SYSTEM

As stated at the start of this thread, it is preferred first and foremost that we list information on machines using serial numbers.

However, in the case of old/inactive on-line listings where serial numbers were not provided and there is no current contact information, I have devised the following designation system whereby we can record information from these listings. It is not a perfect system as the same machines might appear again in listings from other localities. But it will still add to our knowledge base by enabling us to capture unique images and information on particular machines as they work their way through listings. If, in future, we can gain serial numbers for any of these machines, I will link the serial number to the old listings.

For example, in 2013 I contacted a Craigslist seller in Minnesota who had a Schubert; he would not sell it to me as I could not arrange a local pick-up. I do not know what has since happened with that machine. But I still have the description from 2013. My temporary designation for that machine (so that I can post it here) is USMN2013MAY19.

How to create a non-serial number designation. For old US postings, use US and then the US state postal code (in this case, MN=Minnesota), followed immediately by the original date of posting. For old foreign postings, spell out the full country name and then the original date of posting: e.g. FRANCE2012JANUARY31.

The following entries are arranged chronologically by original posting dates:

BEETHOVEN EDISONICS:
USMI2007NOVEMBER9 (4/27/2014); US2010DECEMBER19 (5/3/2014)

SCHUBERT EDISONICS:
USNJ1997NOVEMBER15 (5/7/2014); AUSTRALIA1997NOVEMBER20 (5/1/2014);
USNY2005 (5/2/2014); GERMANY2006 (4/25/2014);
USMD2006JULY7 (4/24/2014 & 5/29/2014--SEE Serial #2673);
USPA2007 (5/1/2014); USMI2007NOVEMBER9 (4/27/2014); USIL2008JUNE16 (4/27/2014--SEE Serial #1958);
USIL2010JUNE12(4/24/2014); NEW ZEALAND2012MAY3 (4/25/2014);
USWA2013MARCH17 (5/1/2014); USMN2013MAY19 (4/23/2013);
USGA2013AUGUST8 (4/25/2014); USNY2015SEP (10/15/2015 & 10/17/2015—SEE Serial #5451)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FINALLY, "YOU TUBE" VIDEOS OF UNIDENTIFIED EDISONICS AND THEIR UNIDENTIFIED OWNERS
(see posting dated 4/30/2014 for details and links)

Number of BEETHOVEN EDISONICS portrayed: 0
Number of SCHUBERT EDISONICS portrayed: 2
("Classy8888" has since been identified as Ian Griggs, who owns #6025)
("Chagall56" has since been identified as our own "Marcapra"--and he reveals that the Schubert filmed is #1246)

[fran604g]

Thank you for the update Ralph!

I was just checking in to see if Beethoven #1049 was on your list (as it turns out, it wasn't).

There is a guy on Facebook ("The Antique Phonograph Enthusiasts" page) whom has Beethoven #1049, with an installed LP assembly (he retrieved the works from a No. 1 LP console).

I must say, the machine is drop-dead gorgeous, as are all of his several other instruments he posted pictures of, including a particularly beautiful B 450 Louis XVI.

Best,
Fran