Edison Spring Motor

[Andersun]

Here is a different style clip that came in on a U.S. Phonograph Co. Spring Motor.

[Aristophane]

A very nice example of an earlier Edison Spring Motor!

It's difficult to date these as specifically as the Gems, Standards, and Homes, but yours can be dated with confidence to 1897; probably the latter half. Your machine's motor should have spherical governor weights and spoked gears - signs of the U.S. Phonograph Company motor.

Thanks for posting!

George P.

Thanks. I will take some pictures of the motor this weekend and post them.

[Aristophane]

Here is a different style clip that came in on a U.S. Phonograph Co. Spring Motor.

Merci!

[Aristophane]

Mine is 24380. Maybe yours and mine knew each other at the factory

Maybe, but the Spring Motor was a slow-moving machine at that time. Selling 60 of them may have taken a couple of months!

George P.

An Emerson clip is a device that makes it easy to take off and replace reproducers. The factory used brackets with 4 screws to hold the reproducer on. Your clip is missing a small piece that acts as a stop when rotating the clip. The United States Phonograph Company used them and stamped their name on them. See pictures provided.....

Thanks, oh, yes, missing is the little part... Not sure I can find one, it's so small. I have another other reproducer et a recorder but not sure they not sure if they are contemporaries of this spring motor

[Aristophane]

That's a beauty! Has an Emerson clip on it too. What's all in the drawer? I see a screw driver....

Thanks, not sure what is an Emerson clip? There are 3 screw driver in the drawer. Not sure about the paper because it's a bit worn. I will look at it and let you know

The Emerson clip is the "question mark" shaped clip that retains the reproducer. I believe it's the far less common style.

Ah! Merci

[Aristophane]

Mine is 24380. Maybe yours and mine knew each other at the factory

Maybe, but the Spring Motor was a slow-moving machine at that time. Selling 60 of them may have taken a couple of months!

George P.

An Emerson clip is a device that makes it easy to take off and replace reproducers. The factory used brackets with 4 screws to hold the reproducer on. Your clip is missing a small piece that acts as a stop when rotating the clip. The United States Phonograph Company used them and stamped their name on them. See pictures provided.....

Thanks, oh, yes, missing is the little part... Not sure I can find one, it's so small. I have another other reproducer et a recorder but not sure they not sure if they are contemporaries of this spring motor

[Aristophane]

Maybe, but the Spring Motor was a slow-moving machine at that time. Selling 60 of them may have taken a couple of months!

George P.

An Emerson clip is a device that makes it easy to take off and replace reproducers. The factory used brackets with 4 screws to hold the reproducer on. Your clip is missing a small piece that acts as a stop when rotating the clip. The United States Phonograph Company used them and stamped their name on them. See pictures provided.....

Thanks, oh, yes, missing is the little part... Not sure I can find one, it's so small. I have another other reproducer et a recorder but not sure they not sure if they are contemporaries of this spring motor

oups wrong picture... better now

[Aristophane]

That's a beauty! Has an Emerson clip on it too. What's all in the drawer? I see a screw driver....

Et voilà !

[Aristophane]

You're welcome!

I happen to own Spring Motor #24319 - - just 101 machines after yours.

George P.

ahaha, I wonder what the production was at the time, how many machines were manufactured per day, and how many are still in good condition. It's super rare to find them in France. To be honest, you can only find common models, and even those are hard to come by except in specialized stores, and there aren't many of those, even in Paris

[phonogfp]

Prior to Edison absorbing the United States Phonograph Company in October 1897, the latter company was Edison's sales agent for Homes and Spring Motors. Sales were quite sluggish. As noted in The Talking Machine Compendium, only 774 machines had been sold between March 1, 1896 and February 28, 1897. National Phonograph Company's total sales (including records) for this period was $103,565.29. National's sales from March - December of 1897 (the period from which our Spring Motors originate) was $110,673.23. From this, we can estimate that machine sales for 1897 were not significantly higher than 1896.

Based upon my research on Spring Motor/Triumph Phonographs (noting production benchmarks), I believe that Spring Motor #24671 dates from November 1897. I wish we knew monthly production figures, but this is as close as I can come to estimating the age of Spring Motors from this period.

George P.