Echophone

[Phonofreak]

Congrats on your new son. I hope he will be a future collector. My son who just turned 19, was named after my two American figures that I admired the most. His name is Thomas Franklin Kravitz named after Thomas Edison and my Grandmother Tessie. His middle name Franklin is named after Benjamin Franklin and my Grandfather Frank. Sorry I can't help with the Echophone.
Harvey Ktavitz

[gramophone78]

Sonny, Congrats to being a new Dad. This may be a good reason to give that dealer your cell #..... . I know little about these machines. However, it would seem that the glass tube is broken. I say this because of the piece of black tape on it.
It also seems to be running up $$$ already.

[SonnyPhono]

Thanks for all of the kind comments. I started this thread with intentions of discussing a phonograph I didn't know much about and when I mentioned I was writing from the hospital, that became just as much a discussion as the phonograph in question. It shows a lot about the character of the members of this forum to congratulate my wife and I and discuss their children as well when the topic was supposed to be focused on a pretty rare phonograph. Thanks again everyone for the kind words and for sharing your experiences as well.

We are finally home and I am really tired but thought I would update everyone interested in both issues being discussed on this thread. Amy and the baby are doing great. The biggest adjustment is trying to help my 15 month old understand that she is now sharing the house with a sibling. It's been tough already, but an amazing experience to say the least. We were happy to hear it was a boy because my family is the opposite of George's. Lots of girls but I'm the last Whittington with a chance to carry on the name and now I have done so. So now it's up to my son to keep the name going!

As for the Echophone, thanks everyone for all the information. It's an interesting phonograph to say the least. After reading George's estimate regarding the number of existing Echophones I decided to go have a closer look. I didn't have too much time because of the baby, but was able to check it out completely and took some pictures too. While looking it over I asked if he knew any history on this particular phonograph and he did. He was helping to clear out an accumulation of antiques from a local estate. There were several wooden boxes in the basement all containing a variety of odds and ends that the family had accumulated over time. He made an offer for all of the boxes and it was accepted. After his offer was accepted he began going through some of it. He came across a box that had a lid that was sealed with what he thought was wax. So before loading it, he opened the crate to see what was inside. Of course it was the Echophone. He asked the owner about it because he didn't know what it was and thought it may be some sort of science instrument. The owner told him it was a very old cylinder record player and that it had been in the family since it was purchased new in the 1800's by his great grandfather. The family moved here from Philadelphia sometime in the early 1900's and it has been sitting in that sealed wooden crate ever since. So it was purchased in Philadelphia and has stayed with the family ever since.

I was pretty upset to say the least when he told me that he tried to call me to see if I knew anything about it or if I would be interested in it for my collection. He didn't know if it had any value at that point and said he wasn't concerned as he made the original offer for the things in the basement not knowing it was included. When he got my voice mail, he decided to have someone at his shop do a little research to help the eBay description and started the auction at 99 cents. It wasn't until he received several offers for the phonograph with each of them asking to end the auction early that he realized it my have some value. Of course he didn't accept any of them and so, here we are. He laughed today when he told me he was ready to give it to me for helping him in the past with phono related question/restorations and that he was sure happy now that I didn't answer my phone. I told him I would have paid him for it even if it was offered for free because of it's rarity and value, but that he will do much better now because I wouldn't have been able to pay near what it may end for.

Anyway, looking it over it is actually in pretty good condition. Here are the only issues I saw. It didn't have a horn or listening tubes. The glass tonearm was cracked as described in the listing and the glass stylus was chipped off at some point. One of the rubber bands used to hold the ends of the "bellows" together was corroded and almost completely gone. There are some small dings in the wood and it's missing one of the small hooks that latches to secure the lid. Aside from that, everything was in great condition and was just a bit dusty and dirty. The motor did run smooth as the listing states. I didn't wind it more than one full turn because it's currently listed and I would feel really bad if by chance alone something gave. But with only one complete turn of the key the motor started up and everything ran smooth. There is a spring that connects to the glass tonearm and it wasn't connected. (Can be seen in his pictures.) I left it disconnected for fear of damaging something. Overall it looked to be a pretty nice phonograph that could be fixed to play quite easily.

I took pictures if anyone would like me to email them or post them. They are not much different from his shown in the listing, but I took some closeup photos and they show more detail. Send a PM if interested. Again, thanks for the information on this one. I told him just about everything that was written about the Echophone in this thread and he was pleased to learn about it's history. He asked me what I thought it would sell for and I told him I have no idea. So it will be interesting to see what it sells for and was definitely interesting to learn it's history and see in person.

[Swing Band Heaven]

I'm a bit late picking up on this thread....

May I add my contratulations on the birth of your son. I think each one is an experience that is never forgotten even many years later... a decade has passed since my eldest was born but the joy and stress of the occasion will stay with me forever

Thats a very interesting and curious machine. Never seen anything like that even in books! I assume that when new if the glass stylus broke or got chipped then you would simply replace the whole arm. I wonder how easy it would be to have one of these replecated today...even so its a great find and i'm sure it will be appreciated by its new owner.
S-B-H

[SonnyPhono]

Thanks S-B-H!

Looking closely at the glass tonearm, I wouldn't imagine it would be difficult or expensive to replace. It looked like the same type of glass pipette used in chemistry class. There is only one bend in it which looked to be a 90 degree angle. The other end would be closed and a small stylus could be formed without too much trouble. Of course I could be totally wrong on this. But as long as glass tubing is used that has the same diameter and thickness of the original, it wouldn't appear to be that difficult.

With that replaced, I believe this one would play. I'd love to hear one of these!

[JohnM]

The chemistry departments of universities typically have an on-staff glass-blower to produce lab equipment. I'm sure that accurately replicating the glass arm would be a simple task for such a person. One could probably be fashioned from 'hard glass' (borosilicate) that would have a more durable stylus.

[Valecnik]

Sonny,

I too am late to this thread. Pretty busy this week but when I picked up on the fact that you were the father of a new baby son, I also wanted to offer my congratulations. Now you have at least two Gems or perhaps a Gem and a Junior!

Regarding your story of trying to console your 15 month old I can relate to that. Our 18 month old was something less than happy when we brought home her new baby brother. At one point, many months after the brother came, after watching the movie "Bambi" for the 100th time, our daughter asked if we leave him in the forest like Bambi.

She did not warm up to him for a long time but now at ages 4 & 6, they are inseperable.

You have a lot to look forward too but for the near future don't look forward to much sleep!

[Lucius1958]

Reading the patent description, I'm having some difficulty picturing how the reproducer worked. Does anyone have a link to the patent drawings - or perhaps a sketch?

Oh, and congratulations on the addition to your family!

-Bill

[phonogfp]

U.S. Patent No.562,694. You can access it here:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=4J9fAA ... et&f=false

The patent doesn't make very clear Amet's method of sound reproduction, and in litigation Amet stated that he was not prepared to explain the "phenomenon."

It's really pretty simple: imagine an Exhibition sound box lying on its back; its diaphragm facing upward. Now substitute a hollow glass tube for the exhibition's needle bar. Substitute a thin rectangular piece of wood for the mica diaphragm. Have that wooden diaphragm riding on a short piece of rubber hearing tube with a hole punched through its center. Fasten the wooden diaphragm with a rubber band at each end. Finally, attach a coil spring to the glass tube so it exerts a slight downward pull against the wooden diaphragm. That's basically it.

George P.

[gramophone78]

George,
OK, so you put tab "A" into slot "B" and then wrapped "C" over "D" and last, tuck in the piece of wood with rubber on it... .......By George, I think I got it.. .