OMG Chinese Edison Cylinder

[JerryVan]

With all respect, I'd like to offer a slightly different opinion for the benefit of those who have not yet owned wax Amberol records.

Are they brittle and fragile? Yes.

Are they time bombs just waiting to self-destruct for no apparent reason? That has not been my experience. I've owned some wax Amberols for nearly 50 years, and they have survived 4 moves between different houses, the seasonal changes of western New York State, and even an occasional playing!

As I've written elsewhere on this Forum, I take the following common sense precautions:

1) I keep wax Amberols in the same room where the machines that play them are located.

2) I avoid any sudden changes in temperature when I play them. In the winter I will not play these records unless the record temperature and air temperature are equal or nearly so.

3) I don't hold these records in my hands for any longer than necessary to transfer them from the box to the mandrel and back again. In the summer months, this is not really a potential problem, but it can be in the winter.

I haven't had a wax Amberol break since I've been mindful about sudden changes in temperature. The temperature in my display area gravitates between about 55 degrees in the dead of winter when it's below zero outdoors, and about 75 degrees in summer when it's in the high nineties outdoors. I've had no wax Amberol breakage for about 20 years. The key is to avoid sudden changes of temperature.

What do you suppose would happen if I remove a wax Amberol from its box in mid-winter, and hold it in the palm of my hand for 10 seconds? It could likely break. Yet, this hasn't happened to me for at least a couple of decades. That's because the records and the machines are in the same room (and are the same temperature), and I hold the Amberols properly (two fingers spread inside the core), and the hand-to-record contact is only about 3-4 seconds. It's not brain surgery.

I've seen ham-fisted collectors who hold cylinders in the palms of their hands, and rattle and slam the records as though they're made of steel. That may work alright for Blue Amberols, but wax Amberols require a bit of finesse.

The reward is some great music that is unavailable on other cylinder formats, and sounds very good as well (provided the stylus and record are in good condition, of course).

My upcoming article in the December issue of The Antique Phonograph describes how I became aware of a collecting prejudice I had carried since the 1960s. It strikes me that dismissing wax Amberols out of hand smacks of the same sort of prejudice, and such closed-mindedness can diminish our enjoyment of the hobby. I encourage collectors (well, careful collectors!) to give wax Amberols a try if you haven't already done so.

Best to all,
George P.

George,

How do you suppose the subject cylinder will do in the un-heated cargo hold of an airplane?

[phonogfp]

George,

How do you suppose the subject cylinder will do in the un-heated cargo hold of an airplane?

Jerry,

Without knowing how well the subject cylinder is packed, how long a flight is involved, nor whether the recipient will allow sufficient time for the entire package to assume room temperature at home, I couldn't hazard a guess.

George P.

[edisonplayer]

I have quite a few wax Amberols.It's ok to play them in the summer,but I'm leery of playing them in the dead of winter.BTW,I wonder if there were any Chinese Blue Amberols?edisonplayer

[paradroid1793]

Edison had a seperate label initially titled "Edison Records in Chinese" similar to "Edison Gold Moulded Record"

Later, they discontinued them when 4-minute Amberols were introduced, and Chinese Amberols were included with other Amberols.

[CarlosV]

I agree with George: the wax Amberols are fragile but if properly kept and handled will survive for a long time. I have some dozens of these, all underwent overseas air transportation to reach my hands and, as they were generally well packed, survived the trip. I only had two issues: one that I file under learning curve category, when I tried to clean one under running water, and ended up with two halves, and another that I found cracked in its box (it was intact when I stored it). In my experience these wax Amberols are as brittle and fragile as RCA Victor records issued in the 40s, that crack with a minimum of stress applied to them. Having said that, I would not pay a small fortune for any wax cylinder, Amberol or not.