FOLLOW THE RESTORATION: one-of-a-kind Higham Graphophone

[MicaMonster]

At first I thought I would publish my research and work in the Antique Phonograph journal, but decided that the Forum would be more interactive, more personal, and capable of posting updates more expediently. This machine was found in Providence, Rhode Island. In a basement. All but forgotten until an estate sale company liquidated the estate. The estate of an Italian civil engineer. Wood weathered, metal corroded and it's highly polished parts grey with age. It's governor weights missing, as well as the governor springs and screws. Not only did this machine provide me with a good mystery to try solving, but it also gives me something to share with all of you, in all of its weirdness and unexpected joy. Buckle in, kiddos...this is gonna be a wild ride!

Upon first glance, we see that unmistakable Higham reproducer sitting largely above the carriage tube. And to the untrained eye, one might just discount it on a glance as nothing more than a very worn out Graphophone "BC.". But the inquisitive collector looks further. The bedplate is too small. The cabinet is too small. The carriage is a Type-A carriage....kinda. The mandrel is too small! The mandrel is TOO LOW! This isn't even a Type-A top casting! What in blazes is this?!?!?! The Higham amplified Type BC came out in 1905, so what is a Higham amplified top works doing on a Type A Graphophone motor? And why does the cabinet look the way it does? Many questions. Many mysteries. MUCH conjecture, and who better to take on this medicine show and hit the ground running? That would be me; your curmudgeonly correspondent in the phono-field. So, let's not delay. Let the oddities commence!

Below are a few pictures of the machine shortly after it was found. I will continue this post-to-post to make it easier to present.

[Phono-Phan]

I am looking forward to your research and restoration progress on this machine. It is quite interesting!!

[GrafonolaG50]

Is that one of the Graphophones with the amber wheel amplifier rig?

[MicaMonster]

I will cover this subject in a few sections, one at a time. 1-top casting 2-cabinet 3-motor.

Yes, the top casting is iron, not brass or pot metal. The mandrel is for 4" cylinders, not 6" 20th Century cylinders. All of the gearing is exposed, and nickel plated. The reproducer face is 3-½" in diameter. The amplifier uses two vulcanized shoes (instead of 3), with rotating Amber friction wheel. I disassembled the top works and cleaned and polished everything. The quality of the gear work is staggeringly fine. Tolerances are of the highest quality throughout. But do notice....the mandrel shaft and pulley are set low in the casting, not high like a Type A. How as this accomplished? If one looks closely at the paint on the left side of the casting, you can see mating lines under the paint where a Type-A casting was cut and milled, and the mandrel stanchion lowered, and grafted to a lower position. The additional mounting plate which supports the amplifier drive shaft and intermediary gear has also been added. Put together like puzzle pieces, in such a highly precise way. Held together by a brass ankh shaped key, inset in the metal with such tight precision that it creates a completely solid and strong form. Set screws were drilled and threaded for both the amplifier drive shaft bearing, and for the carriage shaft. Again, all tolerances are very tight, with nearly negligible gear backlash, and everything is in precise alignment. So perfect. Maybe, too perfect. Look at the front leading edge of the casting. The lip has been eliminated, and instead there are two screw lugs at the corners.

The reproducer body is all brass, and machined in such a way that I can not say that this was an amateur job. The trunnion piece is also brass, and you can see a routered channel cut through the trunnion where the reproducer body has been fused in place, then both pieces were nickel plated together. There is a knob to the bottom right of the reproducer, This adjusts the pre-tension on the needlebar, and the amount of force exerted on the vulcanite shoes. The reproducer lift lever works smooth, with a pleasing feel through its large "Smarties" shaped lever button. The front carriage stanchions have been machined back to look more ornate. All gears show no wear whatsoever. The font of the word GRAPHOPHONE is taller, and thinner than what we are accustomed to seeing, and the only decoration on the top casting are the florets and decoration under its name. All in gold on Japan black, under a final coat of shellac.

SO....WHY? I imagine that with the development of any new idea, there are phases of development. (CONJECTURE ALERT! CONJECTURE ALERT!!!). Certainly, you would want to make your new amplified phonograph affordable and easy to transport. This machine weighs a little More than an Edison Standard, which would certainly offer some competitive advantage in price and utility. It proves that the Higham phonic apparatus works in a small format, capable of blasting the eardrums of its captive audience for two whole minutes. The single-spring Type-A motor most likely didn't have enough oomph to do the job reliably, but we will get to that shortly. It has its own surprises.

Here we have a mechanism that looks highly unused. It's 2-minute sapphire was missing (probably fell out). A new one is on its way from the Mighty Ron Sitko.

The original belt is layered canvas, sewn together in the typical Graphophone style. Interestingly enough, the drive pulley on the upper works has precisely machined cross hashing to add friction for the belt. But, I will get to the belt soon.

[Lucius1958]

Interesting!

As I looked at the photos, I noticed some more curiosities: the decal is too large for the case, and is of a type used in the late '90s.

The case has a slight resemblance to the "GG" style case that was shown in early cuts of the BC, although the corners are not the same, nor the edge of the top board; and of course it is smaller.

What does the model designation read on the ID plate?

I hope to see more research on this mystery machine.

Bill

[MicaMonster]

Still don't believe me? Yet, you read onward! I'm glad. Because it's worth the effort. The cabinet footprint is about 12" X 8". It will not break your back in carrying the way a triple-spring-powered "BC" will. If there were two, you could carry one under each arm while smoking a cigar and hailing a trolley.

Yes, I am aware of the Highamophone machine, and it's traversing carriage and stationary reproducer. It is highly impractical, and EXCEEDINLY complex in its design. It can be viewed in the Fabrizio&Paul book THE TALKING MACHINE AN ILLUSTRATED COMPENDIUM" on page 143, illustration 4-39. In my final punch for tonight, I will present to you the patent application drawing filed Feb 15, 1905 by Columbia's chief engineering genius Thomas Hood Macdonald. In the patent text, he notes the incorporation of Daniel Higham's patented apparatus in this design. What we see here is staggering. The similarities are more than just coincidental. In the later BC, the half-nut arm is mounted at a steep angle away from the front of the machine, at its tail it rides a polished support rod. On this machine the half-nut support station is directly under the carriage tube as per the Type-A design, and this is reflected in the patent drawing. And additionally if you inspect the reproducer design, it is identical to that in the patent drawing....a Higham mounted to the carriage tube, with integrated half-nut support and lift lever.

[MicaMonster]

The ID tag says Type A, serial # 69409.

Yes, the cabinet resembles a highly beaded and adorned GG cabinet, in a few ways. It is in fact an original Type-A cabinet that had to be made TALLER to acommodate the reproducer. So, ¼" thick oak boards were applied to all four sides, corner beading, and a 1"+ skirt below the original lid to raise the lid to fit. The swivel lid latches (another Macdonald invention) were also removed, slots cut into the bedplate, and lid plates were installed. My plans for the cabinet are to improve its look, but not strip-N-refinish, as I would like it to remain a key element in the machine's provenance. I have touched up the areas that were missing finish with wood dye to tone them darker and make them less noticable. As far as the missing bead work.....I might have some made in the near future.

The motor was missing all four of its governor springs, and screws. Thankfully I found a small folded piece of newspaper inside the cabinet with the weights and ALL of the original screws and washers! The newspaper looks equally as old as the machine. I could not find a date on it, but it is entirely in Italian. The estate family name was Italian as well. I suspect it has been in the same family. This is where Columbia company employee records would be helpful.

NEXT: the motor and all of its modifications. (after I get the replacement parts!)

[TinfoilPhono]

This is shaping up to be one of the most fascinating restoration threads ever. I'm already seriously regretting not going after this when it was on eBay. Like so many others I think I missed some significant details.

[fran604g]

Oh my lord, Wyatt, this is fascinating!

I can't get over the polished gears...the fact that the top works cleaned up as well as it did is amazing.

How is the mandrel stanchion held grafted to the lower frame? With screws?

Fascinating!

Fran

[MicaMonster]

The mandrel stanchion is fit together into the main casting by a method of channel milling, where it attaches like a puzzle piece, then is pinned in place. It makes me think of the stone dressing work of the ancient craftsmen of Macchu Picchu. Each stone being lapped together as to create a fit so tight that a piece of paper won't slide in. Or a Victorian parquet floor, locked in place by a central key-lock.

NOW we move onto the motor. Below are two motors pictured. The TOP photo is of my Washington D.C. Type-A motor, and the BOTTOM photo is of the Modified one. The Modified motor is best covered starting from the RIGHT. The added friction amplifier obviously requires more torque. To this end the original single spring and its support casting were removed and replaced with a custom made double-spring barrel. The old support casting wasn't just milled back, but the area behind the spring barrel was also machined back in a crescent to allow the circumference of the spring barrel to fit! The bull gear and first pinion have been relocated to the spring barrel side, and the ratchet pawl and spur gear now operate independently of the bull gear. I can see why this was done, because having the increased torque on the pintel bearing on the original configuration would most likely bend the support shaft and cause some major gear grinding! We all know that sound....."POP! Ka------ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! CLUNK!"

The drive pulley also has the same style of machined cross-hashing for added belt traction. The governor weights are very different, and I can't figure out exactly why. They seem to be made of lead, like the originals, but each has a thick brass band on them. I weighed them on a lab scale and they weigh 20.1 grams each. Hopefully in my next post I will have this beast running and playing Cal Stewart at a volume level so high that the neighbors complain.