Viewing other Collections....what impressed you?

[ColoradoPhonograf]

I'm curious to what fellow collectors remember and cherish about seeing other phonograph collections. Sometimes the stories about the machines draws you in or just the beauty of seeing pristine original machines preserved or the luxurious sound certain machines achieve. I wonder what other people would think If I invited them over for a presentation and how they would view it as a fellow collector. I recall the first time I heard an Auxetophone played in it's glorious ways at a fellow collectors house and the sheer beauty of an Edison Idealia.

What do you cherish about seeing another collection and what made an impact on you as a collector? Sights...or sounds? or just the simple things like things you've never seen before firsthand? I think I've seen some advertising pieces that were probably more impressive than machines.

I thought it might be an interesting topic to make us all consider how we collect and present our collections to others.

Happy Collecting to all,
ColoradoPhonograf

[Jerry B.]

I think every collector has a slightly different focus on the hobby and it's fun to see the variety. Of my collecting friends... one collects rare paper items, one rare records, another has the best sign and banner collection on the west coast, one has the finest and rarest Victrolas I've ever seen, another enjoys the restoration process and the challenge of bringing a machine back to life. There's something interesting in every collection, even the small ones. Some of our OTAPS members have been reluctant to host a meeting because they think they don't have much to offer. When they agree to host, we have had some of our best and most enjoyable meetings. Jerry Blais

[phonogfp]

Jerry's right - - collections often mirror the personality of the owner, or at least shows what turns him/her on. I know a guy who collects nothing but Pucks. I've never owned one, and have no particular interest in them, but seeing a dozen of them nicely displayed - all different - I was impressed, and found myself carefully examining and comparing them.

For jaded old dogs like me, seeing something I haven't seen before is what I enjoy most. Even a common machine, if it's in pristine condition, is enjoyable. In general for me, I suppose it must be "sights." Advertising is great, and I like early disc record labels - paper or otherwise. There are exceptions though: hearing an Auxetophone is indeed impressive. A well-restored "BC" Graphophone when it's really barking is also an attention-getter. Then there's a certain Sonora lowboy model that has such a mellow, sweet tone - - I love hearing that thing play. On the other hand, I'm just finishing the restoration of a "Rectorphone," but I may never even play it - - certainly not with a wax cylinder anyway. That machine is definitely to look at. I'm the same way when viewing other collections - - I don't particularly care to hear a machine play unless there's something unusual about how it reproduces sound (e.g.: Vitaphones, Higham reproducers, Auxetophones, Echophones, etc.)

Isn't it wonderful how we collectors have so many various approaches and perspectives on the same things?

George P.

[Zeppy]

"impressed" can be a little bit of a loaded term. Undoubtedly, when I see a collector with unlimited financial means gather together a collection of rare machines, in prestine original condiction, I am impressed with that collection. But seeing someone on a shoe string budget, that hunts down the "barn fresh" machines that have been long forgotten, and lovingly restores(or when required, accurately refinishes) a machine he would otherwise not be able to afford, I find that equally and sometimes even more impressive. And then there are the little details...I personaly like to have an original instruction manual, and some related advertising material with every machine I own. Having gone through this wild hunt for my machines, I have a healthy respect for those who collect ephemera. I think the collector himself also adds to what impresses me. Merely amassing machines does little for me. There was an episode of American Pickers where a hoarder had stockpiled all sorts of amazing odds and ends in his "home" (I recall it was a former prision). There where phongraphs of all sorts strewn around with assorted other items, that were also pretty amazing pieces. But the guy was a hoarder. He had several machines I would lust after, but he really had no passion for anythning but accumulating things. In the wrong hands, even the most exciting machines lose their effect, where in the hands of a knowledgeble and passionate collector, even common machines could impress me.

[Brad]

(Late to the party, I was in the Catskills riding my bike up and down monster climbs all weekend).

For me, 75% of the joy I derive from the hobby is the hunt. I really enjoy that part of the experience. When I see a collection composed of a variety of items, it reminds me of what the hunt must have been like to acquire all that is there and it fuels the desire.

It isn't so much of what exactly is there, it is that it is there that I find most appealing.