The Future of Our Hobby...

[OrthoFan]

Will our younger generations raised in a world of hi-tech computers, communication devices, entertainment systems, etc even care enough to collect or bother restoring these talking machines that we love?

Absolutely not! Quite apart from the fact that the necessary skills and tools probably won't exist (do young people expect to ever get their hands dirty these days?)there is no evidence anywhere to suggest or support the theory that there is anything like the same number of newcomers to this hobby as there is those who we have sadly lost from it over the past 15 years. With every passing day the situation only gets much worse. Just look at the UK: no more than half a dozen serious collectors left and falling!

I think we'll all have to think more outside the box, looking ahead. (In your case, Steve, "the box" being the boundaries of your own country.) As I mentioned in my post above, the hobby seems to be far more global in nature than it was prior to the introduction of the internet. This board, alone, has attracted collectors and enthusiasts from all around the world--the only restriction being that they have enough of an understanding of the English language to communicate effectively. (Ebay, of course, has also make the market for acquisitions and selling truly global.)

As for repairs, in the United States, a part that needs servicing may have to be shipped one or two thousand miles to someone with the qualifications to get the job done correctly. The same, based on what you pointed out about the dwindling local interest, will probably also hold true, especially going ahead, in your area. (Of course, trans-boarder shipments are always a PITA, but they can be done.)

Along this line, I know of at least one youngster who is a member of this board, who HAS developed significant repair skills just within the past decade, as his collection has grown. He started out, barely a teenager, posting on the original "Old Time Victrola Music Message Board" hosted by Mark Best. What he as learned, he can teach, and I'm confident that the torch will be passed on to the next generation of collectors. (I'm also just as sure that there MUST be one or two like him in the UK or Europe--and really, all you need are a few people with the required skills to keep our hobby in motion. )

Hope I'm not coming across as too optimistic. I don't like making people hurl.

Ortho_Fan
(David S)

[Steve]

Perhaps it's this kind of class distiction & snobbery that is killing the hobby in UK?

Lol! No, it's not that, Shane. You'd have to have the interest with enough people for that to work. No, it's a far more fundamental 'problem' than that (using the word loosely as it is hardly a problem as such): there are no younger people interested. Maybe it's a combination of simple economics, bad trade, poor quality items available and a simple lack of interest. I do not know of anyone under 25 who would not think collecting phonographs is a silly and expensive waste of time.

Another factor is TV. When I was younger, there always used to be old films and 'period' dramas on terrestrial TV with quality production values showing old items in their historical context. Nowadays I can't find ANY films on normal TV; it's all so-called 'reality' TV programmes. Maybe I should put my pitch to the networks for a program about Restoring Your Gramophone! I bet that'd go down like on a house on fire.

Personally I respect whatever interests other people. By the same token I also respect those who think we are all deluded individuals buying and preserving what a dealer known to me privately describes as "a lot of old c**p".

And what exactly is a "serious" collector? Are you? Am I?

As far as some people are concerned, "serious" might mean anyone who is interested enough to collect a lot of machines. It is fair to say that the Late Roger Thorne was "serious" in other words. That doesn't mean that if you only have one machine you are not sufficiently interested in the subject but it does take another level of time and financial commitment to buy and maintain say 50 - 100 machines, would you not agree?

[Starkton]

And what exactly is a "serious" collector?

Freely adapted from Einstein: To be a "serious" collector you must be a collector first of all. If you additionally show more than a passing interest in talking machines, constantly acquiring knowledge, machines, records or whatever, I would call you a serious phonograph collector, no matter if your purchases are valuable or not.

[OrthoFan]

the hobby seems to be far more global in nature than it was prior to the introduction of the internet.

I don't even agree with this statement. ....
I think the internet has merely put us in contact with each other far easier than ever before, and made information about our collections more accessible.

Hi Shane:

That's exactly what I meant by "global in nature." The internet has allowed us to not only to be in contact with other collectors--who live in other countries--but to more easily acquire machines and parts that may never have been available locally at the time they were produced. Prior to the internet, I knew virtually nothing about UK, European, Australian, Japanese, etc., collectors or their collections.

Before I saw the Australian Gramophones site, for instance, I knew nothing about the Rexonola Prismaphonic, or that any gramophones might have been produced in Australia. Now I not only know about it, but dammit, I WANT one. (Or at least I can dream about having one...until my ship comes in.)

I guess I should have been more clear in my post.

OF

[SonnyPhono]

And what exactly is a "serious" collector?

Freely adapted from Einstein: To be a "serious" collector you must be a collector first of all. If you additionally show more than a passing interest in talking machines, constantly acquiring knowledge, machines, records or whatever, I would call you a serious phonograph collector, no matter if your purchases are valuable or not.

Well put, Starkton. I agree completely.

the hobby seems to be far more global in nature than it was prior to the introduction of the internet.

I dont even agree with this statement.

Of course you don't...

[EdisonSquirrel]

I'm not sure that the designation of "serious collector" adequately describes us. Yes, I have machines, cylinders and discs, and paper phonographica. Still, I'm more than just a collector. Sure, it's a great pleasure to receive long-coveted records in the mail. I enjoy being surrounded by my phonographs and records; it's one of the great joys in life.

However, I believe that my love for the popular music of the era defines me phonographically more accurately than the physical ownership of the actual records and machines. I haven't acquired any "new" records over the last two months. Yet I scour the internet every day in search of new posts of '20s dance band records and other pop tunes of the first quarter of the last century. When I go out for a long walk, I put on my headphones and listen to dance bands on Diamond Disc.

In short, I'm not disparaging the concept of identifying as a [serious] collector; I'm simply expanding my phonographic identify to include "collector" as merely one aspect of my interest in records and machines.



Rocky

[FloridaClay]

What a pleasure to find posts from younger collectors in this thread! Welcome!

This is very much a concern though, shared across all sorts of collecting areas. I just returned from the annual national meeting of The Music Box Society and the event was filled with folks with gray hair like mine.

Repair/restoration is also a concern. People who are expert in the magical art of restoring antique music boxes are now few and far between and long in the tooth. Really competent antique clock restores are also getting harder and harder to find.

Clay

[1923VictorFan]

"Repair/restoration is also a concern. People who are expert in the magical art of restoring antique music boxes are now few and far between and long in the tooth. Really competent antique clock restores are also getting harder and harder to find."

A very good observation.
I'm starting to think the more mechanically gifted teenager of today should perhaps avidly study phonograph or clock repair. They are both areas of specialization that are rapidly vanishing.