My mysterious little Columbia AA Graphophone

[Zenger]

I pulled this nice little machine out of an attic many years ago (the family said it had been up there for as long as anyone could remember) and have never gotten around to restoring it, though I still intend to, someday. I identified it pretty early on as a Columbia AA, and confirmed this when Hazelcorn's Columbia Phonograph Companion came out, but his entry for this machine raised a lot of questions about mine.

As you can see, mine has the "small" decal, and according to Hazelcorn, all of these left the factory with the "large" decal. He does say in a footnote that he knows of one example with the small decal and the 1906 Milan Exposition decal on the back, then adds in a second footnote that he knows of one other small decal version with a 1904 St. Louis Exposition decal on the back. Well, as you can see, mine also has the 1904 decal, so I guess that makes two of them, now? Of course, it's been almost 25 years since that book was published, and I'm hoping more information about these has come to light since then. Does anyone know of more examples, either 1904 or 1906? Hazelcorn speculated that perhaps someone sent in a damaged original AA cabinet to the factory and they sent back a leftover case with new decals on it, but that seems a stretch to me, especially now that we know it's not exactly a one-off. If anyone out there knows more about this matter, I would be very interested to hear.

As picture #8 shows, my machine has the end-cap on the mandrel, which I believe was introduced after 1901, when the AA was sold. So again, this points to it being a later-produced machine. Also, Hazelcorn lists the last serial number for the AA as 712527, but as picture #9 shows, mine has the serial number 712826 -- much later than Hazelcorn's latest known example.

Another mystery is the reproducer. Hazelcorn says this machine originally came with a Columbia #2 floating reproducer, which makes sense given the 1901 date. Mine, though, has -- well, you can see what it is. Nothing like it is pictured in Hazelcorn. It looks like some 1980's reproductions I have seen (although none of those had stylus bars like this one does), but given that I know this was sitting in that attic at least since the 1960's, and probably earlier, I don't know how that's possible. What's more, just about every picture of an AA I've seen online has this same reproducer on it, except for one that appears to have a Columbia #7 on it. Could it be original? If so, what is it?

Finally, a few more questions:

1. What would the crank look like? If anyone has one, I'd be grateful if you'd post some pictures. Having seen the shaft, I'd guess it has to be slotted. How hard are they to find? I hope they're not unique to this machine.

2. Should there be an escutcheon around the crank hole? If so, can anyone post a picture?

3. Two of the corners are missing the carved pillars. Before I go trying to make replacements myself, is there someone out there who makes these, or has in the past? I know it's a longshot, but...

4. I can't get the reproducer off. (I don't want to try too hard and risk damaging it.) Any tips?

Oh, and if you would like to see pictures of the motor, let me know. There are strings around the governor weights, so someone did at least that much. (I've found several Columbia cylinder machines with those; I guess the spring bars didn't age well.)

Thanks, everyone!

[ColoradoPhonograf]

I purchased a nice AA about a month ago from another collector. It's has it's original finish. Our serial numbers are fairly close. It has the St. Louis Expo 1904 decal, small decal on the front. Mine does have the crank escution.The crank is slotted, not a fall off crank. Send me a private message if you want to compare other things about these.

Thanks,
D.Edwards

[phonogfp]

An article on the AA Graphophone appeared in the June 2020 issue of the APS magazine. This excerpt may answer your question about late-production examples:

"A few Type AA Graphophones have been seen with 1904 St. Louis award decals on their cabinets, and at least one example with a 1906 Milan award decal has been reported. The mystery of who was selling these late-production Type AAs may be at least partially answered by a period label found on the paper envelope containing instructions for one of these machines. It reads: "International Phonographic Language Schools, 59 Dearborn Street, Chicago." Other language schools or small retailers/catalog houses may account for some of these late-production AA Graphophones, but similar evidence has not yet been seen."

The reproducer you show on your AA Graphophone is typical for Graphophones of this period. A drop of penetrating oil at the base of the reproducer should help with its removal.

Mandrel tags began to appear on Columbia Graphophones in mid-1898.

I hope this helps. These little machines really pop when cleaned up.

George P.

[fran604g]

I have to admit that the AA is one of my favorite Graphophones. They're, imho, an anachronism because of the obvious "Bell-Tainter" influence of its appearance.

I will own one someday.

Cheers,
Fran

[tictalk]

Congratulations Zenger, very nice machine, Mine is also missing a corner column if you find a source for reproductions, please let me know. What's neat about the AA is how small they are, its difficult to tell from a photo, also the aluminum chassis and nickel bedplate really makes them shine. Great Piece. Larry

[drboruff]

I too really like these little Columbia AAs. I've had one on the restoration list for many years and got it out yesterday after seeing this post. It has a small decal, but a later "Columbia Graphophone" style banner decal along with the Milan Exposition decal which I had previously overlooked. This one is serial # 713327 which is not too far off from others in this thread. I bought it many years ago from a guy who drives neighborhoods on trash day and pulled it out of someone's trash...so it was almost lost to the ages. I'm happy to share / compare other details for anyone interested in comparing different versions.
David

[Lee]

David,
I can't believe that someone threw the example you have in the trash, what a sin! In the end that's where most things end up, I guess. I'm glad you had a hand in saving it.

[Zenger]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I intend to get it up and working as soon as possible. If anyone has a line on a crank and/or a crank-hole escutcheon, please let me know. Were there other cylinder Graphophones that used this same crank? Can anyone tell me the diameter of the escutcheon?

[edisonclassm]

Columbia AA graphophones are one of my favorite little machines. They are beautifully designed and engineered. A lot of detail and quality in a small package. I have two of them and just got done making exact reproduction cranks. Yes I did make a couple extra so PM me if you are interested. The cranks are unique to this machine.

[Zenger]

Hi, everyone. I have found a crank for the machine, but I still need a crank hole escutcheon. I am told that all Columbia A-series cylinder Graphophones had the same escutcheon, so I hope someone here can find one to sell me. The diameter is .75" on the inside, and 1" on the outside of the ring. If you have one or know of someone who might, please let me know! (And yes, I have post in the Yankee Trader section, too.)