Mussehl & Westphal Record

[travisgreyfox]

While searching through phono related stuff for sale I ran into this pic of a "Mussehl & Westphal" record with a "Saw Duet". Has anybody heard of one of these and can date it? The company is still around and it looks like they sell musical saws (whatever that is )

[travisgreyfox]

I found their website https://www.musicalsaws.com/ and the website claims they have been in business since 1921. I also found a video of a musical saw playing and it sounds really good!

(Double-click the video above or click this link to go to the video on YouTube.)

[Orchorsol]

Fascinating - I love musical saws and have attempted to play one - not as easy as it looks (and it doesn't look that easy anyway!).

An entry on Worthpoint shows a previous example sold, with a different "label" (printed area), and suggests it came with the musical saws as a demonstration record: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1891345861. I'm not subscribed so I can't see the price. I imagine it's one of those items that's worth either a lot or very little...

This page suggests 1929 and links to recordings of both sides https://scruss.com/enterprise.net/musicalsaw.html

Care to share where it is for sale - unless you're after it yourself?

[Pathe Logical]

I have three of these little, flexible, double-sided records --- one is transparent blue, one is transparent green, and the other is opaque black. A friend has one in transparent green also (which has different matrices than mine). I've observed two distinctly different label styles and a least four different recordings/matrices on the records I've inspected.

I believe these were produced by one of Jesse J. Warner's companies, which produced records from 1920 until 1939. Among the labels produced by Warner were: Flexo; New Flexo; Unity; and a variety of promotional and private records. Over time, Warner's offices were located in: Canton, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri; and San Fransisco, California.

Another related, single-sided record (attached to a postcard --- see pic below and https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 78-1996076 ) advertises another instrument sold by Mussehl & Westphal. The name of the instrument was the Slide-Trumpet-Sax, and the triple-belled instrument resembled a cross between a small kazoo, a trombone, and a trumpet. At the lower, left-hand corner of the postcard is the following: "Sworn statement by Warner Record Co., January 21, 1925". I want one of these postcards to add to my collection!!!

[travisgreyfox]

WOW. Very cool. Thanks for all the great info. The record in question is listed with a Sonora phonograph that is all beat up (with bad pics) and the seller is asking $1000 for it. It is in the Pittsburgh area on an app called "Offer Up".


-Travis