Edison Portable

[briankeith]

I came across this Edison Portable (P?) at a local estate / barn sale. It was tucked in their barn but still plays very well and actually sounds great but is showing signs of surface rust, and the record holder has come loose from the hinge. The reproducer looks really good. I don't collect portables so can anyone estimate it's value as I may bring it to Wayne this April with some other things I want to sell ??

[melvind]

A very rare and nice machine even with the rust. I think the reproducer on the P2 (which is much nicer looking than the P1) is a great looking thing. These things play electrically recorded records really well.

Dan

[Oceangoer1]

Wow, what a great find! These late Edison portables are pretty cool as they were one of the last phonographs to be sold by Edison. Certainly worth having at least 1 of the 3 in a collection! The pot metal on the reproducer looks very good, which means it could probably be rebuilt. Wyatt had a thread recently about rebuilding this reproducer, and it was really neat to see.

-Connor

[briankeith]

It actually plays loud & clear - no distortion or motor thumping - just needs some love

[Phototone]

Wow, what a great find! These late Edison portables are pretty cool as they were one of the last phonographs produced by Edison. Certainly worth having at least 1 of the 3 in a collection! The pot metal on the reproducer looks very good, which means it could probably be rebuilt. Wyatt had a thread recently about rebuilding this reproducer, and it was really neat to see.

-Connor

These were not actually "produced" by Edison you know, they were contract manufactured by a large manufacturer of portable players.

[Oceangoer1]

Wow, what a great find! These late Edison portables are pretty cool as they were one of the last phonographs produced by Edison. Certainly worth having at least 1 of the 3 in a collection! The pot metal on the reproducer looks very good, which means it could probably be rebuilt. Wyatt had a thread recently about rebuilding this reproducer, and it was really neat to see.

-Connor

These were not actually "produced" by Edison you know, they were contract manufactured by a large manufacturer of portable players.

I do know that . Thank you for catching that. I'll edit my post. Yes, they were contracted out to Prime Manufacturing, hence the similarities in the soundbox, tonearm, and other characteristics of this one and many many other portables made by Prime for other distributers. I believe the P-1 and P-2 were "designed" by the Edison company, and then manufactured by Prime (using Prime's pot metal soundbox design). The earlier Edison NTP (Needle Type Portable) was generic looking and shares nearly all of its characteristics (case, motor, horn, turntable, tonearm, interior, etc.) with most of the generic phonographs that Prime made, but its soundbox is not very "Prime-y". It very closely resembles a Columbia Viva-Tonal Reproducer, is made of brass, and has the Edison logo with the lightning bolts and the "E".

Also, something I just recently noticed, is that Columbia also outsourced to Prime (or another similar manufacturer). The model 125 Grafonola portable looks kind of similar to the Edison P-2 (but retains a few of the Columbia parts). There is also a model 135 Grafonola portable that looks like a stout version of the Edison P-1 (might share the same tonearm). There is also another portable branded "Harmony" which was a Columbia subsidiary, and it too looks like a Prime portable.

-Connor

[briankeith]

Any idea of value? I will bring it to Wayne in April because I don't collect portables. ( a good trade phonograph )

[marcapra]

The desirable model is the P-1 as it has one of the longest horns ever put in a portable. It also has gold finish on the metal parts, a shut off mechanism, a much longer tonearm, and is larger and heavier than the P-2. It's odd that someone said that he likes the P-2 reproducer over the P-1. They are identical I think except the P-1 is in gold finish. I would say the value is about $200 despite rarity.

[briankeith]

So this is a P-2? I though there were three Edison Portables made? (confused)

[edisonplayer]

I have a P-1 that I got from my late friend Jerry Donnell several years ago.It's a great machine,but I've never found the correct gold plated tone arm and arm support.edisonplayer