City of London Phonograph & Gramophone Society

[Valecnik]

Looks like CLPGS has put up a pretty nice new website. The link is below in case anyone would like to have a look.

http://www.clpgs.org.uk/index.htm

[gramophoneshane]

New? It still looks like the same old website to me, full of the same old mistakes, and information that really tells you nothing at all
I guess it's ok if you consider asking one of their experts a question via email an "open forum", or if you have a rare cylinder brand to sell or swap with one og their members.

[Valecnik]

Well new to me anyway. I didn't know they had one.

[gramophoneshane]

It's been up for at least a couple years. I cant remember if it was operating when I got my first computer 5 yrs ago.
I probably shouldn't be so down on them though, because there is some good info there too, like HMV portable ID, and it is a good source for books, catalogue reprints & discographies.
Unfortunately they seem very orientated towards making the club & it's members money, and giving away free information is a big no no. I'm sure that's "one of the reasons" they've worked so hard to close the UK board so many times.
Unlike Americans, who generously share as much collective information as possible online for the sake of sharing and encouraging or helping others in the hobby, it seems many Brits (and it seems many Aussies too), want to keep it all a secret unless there's a way to make money out of it.
In fsct, I've even come across a couple non-phono forums just like this, where you have pay to join or even access whats posted!
If you check out the CLPGS website, then visit the CAPS website, you'll immediately see the vast difference between 2 similar clubs on opposite sides of the globe, and CAPS is the hands down winner when it comes to freely sharing knowledge with the world & supporting the hobby AS a hobby, and not as something for a select few to fill their wallets with.
Unfortunately this kind of secretive attitude seems to plague most hobbies in most other parts of the world.
When I opened my forum, I asked a very knowledgable fellow (one of the very few aussies that actually joined) about either a record label or gramy manufacturer (cant remember which now). I was told the information was published in a magazine about 15 yrs ago, but the magazine is no longer published or available, so if I wanted to access the info, I'd have to make a 15 hour trip to the national library in Canberra. I was also told in no uncertain terms, that if the information was ever to appear online, it would be severly frowned upon by the aussie collecting community
In a way, I can understand the reasons why the fellow who runs the NoEdison site may be a little secretive about his identity. He may well find himself in hot water with other local collectors for giving too much away, if his identity is common knowledge.

[Retrograde]

The web site is archived since 2001. Not that it really matters.

[Swing Band Heaven]

..... so if I wanted to access the info, I'd have to make a 15 hour trip to the national library in Canberra. I was also told in no uncertain terms, that if the information was ever to appear online, it would be severly frowned upon by the aussie collecting community

LOL! This would be enough to make me make the journey and copy the document and ensure it was as widely distributed on the internet as possible! This kind of attitude of keeping it all hush hush really PMO. I agree that the US sites are very very open and always willing to help out others which is a refreshing chnage from other quarters.

S-B-H

[Starkton]

The above picture of the 2009 CLPGS meeting confirms my fears that phonograph collecting dies out sooner rather than later. We are less than 500 serious collectors worldwide, in the sense that the likes of us own more than one randomly bought or presented phonograph. How many of us are still standing upright in 10 years?!

[Steve]

The difference between a society publishing a quarterly magazine and a genuinely "open" forum like this one is strikingly obvious to me. In order to get information about anything from the society, you would first have to either write a letter to it OR write an article and hope for its inclusion in the magazine. You then would have to wait several months for an answer, but only if another member a) has the answer and b) is willing to share it via their own WRITTEN reply to the magazine!

In a forum such as this one or the UK version (www.gramophones.myfreeforum.org), the question can be asked instantly and is potentially seen straight away by the worldwide collecting audience (500 as Starkton suggests?). Therefore, for most serious collectors, the internet based sites are the most accessible and worthwhile banks of information. End of story.

[antique1973]

I just wanted to point out that my collection would not have been possible
if it was not for the outstanding assistance and helpful information I have
received from the members of this board. By restoring machines in my area I
have seen some degree of new interest in the hobby, and I will continue to
share my enthusiasm with others I come in contact with.