fran604g wrote:
The question for me now becomes: "When did this (presumably) final version of Diamond Disc Phonograph dataplate occur?"
Fran
Fran,
Interestingly, this late data plate has a tiny FORM NUMBER in the upper right-hand corner (pictured below). This interested me because by the late 1920s, Edison form numbers doubled as date codes. I checked some of the Edison literature here, and this is what I found:
Form No.4848-11-26 was issued in November 1926.
Form No.41226 was issued in December 1926.
Form No.4127 was issued in January 1927.
Form No.4864 - 200M - 4-27 was issued in April 1927.
Form No.4427 was issued in April 1927.
Form No.41227 was issued in December 1927.
Form No.4128 was issued in January 1928.
As you can see, all of these forms begin with a "4" and I suspect that the form numbers were in the 4000's when a decision was made to stop issuing them in numerical order, and substitute a date code. The "4" seems to have survived merely as a prefix - at least in the monthly supplements.
This brings us to the late data plates:
No.45110.
If the "4" remains a prefix, then we are left with "5110." If (and that's a big "IF") this is a date code, the only possible date I can deduce is May 11, 1930. That's over 6 months after entertainment Phonograph and record production ceased. However, keep in mind that there was a lot of remaining inventory, and the company was no doubt selling machines and records in 1930.
Do I think this is a likely scenario? Emphatically - NO. But, based upon prior Edison Form Number practices, it is a possibility that should not be dismissed out of hand.
I'm open to further suggestions!
George P.
P.S.: The patent information is of little use, as the last one was granted 9/21/26 for "Mounting For Diamonds And The Like." It was filed July 6, 1923.
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It was bought from a descendant of the original owner here in New York State, so it's more likely just a later style plate rather than intended for export.
