Very Late Edison Idelia

[Phono-Phan]

Well, I think it has been a trifecta year for me. Search my prior posts. First was the very nice Edison Triumph with the near mint eleven panel wood grained horn and a Herzog cabinet full of mint two minute wax records, then the Columbia Baby Grand in circassian walnut, and now an Edison Idelia. About three months ago my sister was at an estate sale and noticed some old Model T Ford in the other half of the garage. She started a conversation with the sellers and mentioned that I am into old cars. They let her take pictures of it and asked what else I was into. She mentioned that I also collect old phonographs. The people said that they had some of those in the house yet. My sister sent me pictures of it all and I noticed the Edison. I initially thought that it was really messed up as I never saw an Edison Idelia with a red bedplate, red reproducer carriage, and red back bracket, nickeled crane and mandrel. I contacted the sellers and asked if I could come see them. They agreed and I made the three hour drive to see them. Once I got there, they told me right away that the family decided to sell it all at an auction and that I couldn't even make an offer on anything. I still wasn't sure what to make of the Edison. The other phonographs that they had were all "tinkered" with to varying degrees. I left and kept in contact with them about the auction. I was still skeptical about it and thanks go to another collector that was at the auction that confirmed that it was a legitimate Idelia. I owe him a big one as he also said he would not bid on it. The auction was yesterday and I brought the Idelia home. It is referenced in Frow's book as being at the end of production when Edison changed from the copper oxidized finish to the red enamel finish to better match the mahogany. During the time between first seeing it and the auction, I scoured the internet looking for an example of this late model E Idelia. I found none!!! Does anyone know of another example? I would love to compare this one to it. I have some work to do on it as the pot metal bushing has seized the mandrel, the potmetal O reproducer is seized in the carriage, the horn has a radio elbow epoxied to the metal collar on the bell, the speed control is missing the pointer, the governor yoke is broken, and the bell has some hairline cracks. The case and horn bell have been stripped and refinished and a new decal was put on the case. The horn bell is missing any decals. These are small problems in the big picture of it all.

[alang]

What a great find. Congratulations! Most of the problems you listed should not be too hard to rectify. I was able to free a reproducer like that by putting the whole carriage into the freezer for a few days. Then send it to Steve Medved to service it make sure everything is moving freely again.

Andreas

[VintageTechnologies]

Did anyone else at the auction have any idea this isn't your run of the mill Edison?

[phonogfp]

Interestingly, Triumph No.83730 (about 250 after this Idelia E) is a D2 model. All the Triumphs/Idelias numbered below this one are also D2 or earlier. Odd...

George P.

[wtt11]

Congrats! I suspect that the top work might not be original to the case as you can see the finish of lid latch and crank isn't a good match to the rest of works... Just guessing. Waiting for some experts to correct me.

[Phono-Phan]

Take a look at the description in Frow's book on the Edison Idelia. It mentions the red paint and the nickel plated mandrel and crane on the late model E Idelias after October 1st of 1910. It is strange though that the other parts(handles, crank, slotted plates for the lid,and crank cover plate are in the oxidized bronze finish. It looks like this version was only in production after October 1st of 1910 and the Idelia model ended three and a half months later.

[gramophone78]

Apparently, Idelia # 86898 type E was up for sale on EBay July 2004. No mention of a red bed plate. However, Steve Medved made mention of it on Phono-L. So, you may want to check with him... .

[FellowCollector]

If you look closely at the picture of the ID plate you can see that the blank areas surrounding the serial number '8 3 4 8 3' obviously had and still have the oxidized effect which begs the question "Why is all (or most) of the remaining surface of the ID plate missing the oxidizing that is clearly evident around the serial number?". And also, it's obvious that the crank, crank escutcheon, ID plate, lid lock plates and cabinet handles were oxidized so why was the mandrel and reproducer not oxidized as well? Seems a bit irrational for the factory to install a rather plain nickel plated mandrel, reproducer, on/off switch and speed knob on a high end machine possessing the other oxidized parts.

Doug

[JohnM]

I have only seen one other in 48 years of collecting. It belonged to Neumann Miller, and Freddy offered it to me in about 1987 for $4500, but I didn't pull the trigger. I don't know what ever became of it. Ever since then, I've preferred to find an 'E' than an oxidized version.

[Phono-Phan]

Doug,
The slight coloration you are seeing around the serial numbers must have been the lighting when I took the picture. The discoloration isn't there under normal lighting. Also, refer to Frow's book on this version. It mentions that only the mandrel and crane were nickel plated.