What is happening to our hobby?

[Andersun]

When I started in the 1970's at 14 years of age, I really enjoyed going to phonograph club meetings because they were always at the houses of the plenty! By seeing so many machines in one place you could get exposed to all of the types that were made and as a result, I focused more on Edisons. Now XX years later, I have some rarer machines and try to bring some of them to display at the phonograph show in Orlando every year for others to inspect and listen to. Sometimes the machine itself decides whether or not we will hear a concert!

[epigramophone]

I agree that reports of our hobby's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

When a friend and fellow enthusiast died suddenly last year I feared that his small but fine collection would be dispersed, but my fears proved unfounded.

His son, who is married with two young children and lives in a small house, has kept all but one machine and almost all of the records. He has taken his father's place in our local gramophone group and has quickly become an active member.

The Internet is a wonderful means of communication, and on balance our hobby is the better for it, but it is no substitute for meeting like minded friends for mutual enjoyment.

Our next group meeting takes place this Saturday, when many records will be played on favourite machines, and a traditional English afternoon tea will be served. This may seem very old fashioned to some, but what is our hobby about if not about nostalgia?

More tea, Vicar?

[Wolfe]

In a period of transition, perhaps.

On one side you have the experienced but aged collectors too old to do much beyond fight the arthritis pains that come from fumbling with the lever on their Diamond Disc machine, and wondering why they're still interested anyway. To the younger set, interested, but distracted with obligations in a tightening economy and a thousand other diversions that internet and media offer. Perhaps one day we'll all decide to gather 'round the warm hearth of the Talking Machine Forum, those that care enough, and rebuild the concentrated collector community anew. There were a record 87 users online as of last April.

[New Owner]

The elderly man who owned the farm collected music boxes, and looked upon phonographs as one step above junk.

I'm guessing he didn't own any Reginaphones?

I'm glad nobody took what I said the wrong way. Actually, not two days ago, on another, totally different forum, where one person named two high-ranking forum members (people who'd been on there since '07 and had 10000+ posts) as "d**ches", and what erupted was a whole circus, leading to the temporary locking of the thread (which had almost 300 pages, albeit because it was a general topic discussion thread). All this because somebody made a comment on how much that forum had changed. I over-reacted to what you said, merely because I'd hate to cause a similar rift in this relatively calm community.

I do agree that books and magazines are preferable to the internet in terms of longevity, but when new data comes out, it could necessitate for a whole new edition of that book, which means sitting down and writing it, pictures, sending it to the press, getting it to the shops, etc., while all one has to do with a webpage is log in, spend 1 hour writing it in, and updating the page. Plus, it allows for much more accurate information. For those who have their old listings and books, go back to them, and see how much information is wrong, weird, or just ridiculous. EBay is great too for getting machines that are otherwise unobtainable (cylinders, both machines and records, are unobtanium in these parts, 78s are plentiful, and machines turn up once in a blue moon), but it doesn't provide the thrill of the hunt provided by local ads (craigslist at least sort of offers that experience).

[pictureroll]

If there is something of interest that might disappear, print it out that way you can refer back to it at will.

Jerry F Bacon-Dallas,Tx ♫♫

[Markie Mark]

Greetings from little old New Zealand. I turned 50 yesterday! Ouch! Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What you collect it what you like. Thank god for that, and the diversity that this hobby brings., I was four when, my mother bought me an HMV portable in a suitcase. Took the thing to the sandpit, smashed the records, pulled the thing to pieces as you did! Must have made an impression that will stay with me for the rest of my journey on this earth! Those who are assoicated with collecting, are ie musical, involved with the arts, performers, broadcasters,investors, policeman! Or just wanting to make a good investment for there old age! Or did grandpa have one at home when I was a little kid, syndrome? Collecting is connected somhow to travelling. Collecting is good, and to share, but is the people along the way, who make the most impressions, that last a lifetime! Without Ebay where would I be? Our country was not dominated by RCA Victor, more the English HMV, although odd ball Edison machines have turned up down in the South Island,heart of the Vintage Phonograph Society. Christchurch has taken a battering with the earthquakes, and some wonderful wooden horn machines have met there fate! Remember, nothing is forever. One has to say goodbye to things and people in life! Yes, collecting can become obsessive and destroys partnerships. Have seen this happen! I have some nice things.A HMV Lumiere with paper speaker,table, plus floor standing model. Columbia BG, Amberol BV111 with all the bedplate cast in one piece, with the stuffs of grass in the corners, resembling that of a Edison Stanard B. A nice find, my I add, with a lovely gold pin stripe stencil.Victor 1 with original horn and decal,cute! Victor 3 with black flower horn. Victor 4 mahogany, I fitted a Hawthorn and Sheble, nickel horn to it, somthing different. Same as Arnold Schwartzman did in his decorative book Phonographics that came out! Nice contrast, the nickel and mahogany compliment each other! Maybe I am a consumit collector. I like the best,somewhat fussy? I love my Brunswick Panatrope combination,radio phonogaph of 1929 vintage. I remember an elderly once said to me "Things are things, and are not poeple",. I am coming to UNION in June of next year and would love to meet up with as many enthusiats of this hobby whilst in the US. Will be back packing! On the lookout for a nice example of a Amberol V, with the bun feet. Cheers Mark Dawson NZ [email protected]

[gramophoneshane]

If there is something of interest that might disappear, print it out that way you can refer back to it at will.

Jerry F Bacon-Dallas,Tx ♫♫

That's what I've done for a long time. I've even got some stuff from the old OVM. I only wish I had printed out a lot more. With ink & paper, it only costs around $10 to print 200-300 pages, which to me is better value than getting a book or magazine that may (or may not) have very little in it that I am interested in or likely to want to reference.

[VintageTechnologies]

If there is something of interest that might disappear, print it out that way you can refer back to it at will.

Jerry F Bacon-Dallas,Tx ♫♫

That's what I've done for a long time. I've even got some stuff from the old OVM. I only wish I had printed out a lot more. With ink & paper, it only costs around $10 to print 200-300 pages, which to me is better value than getting a book or magazine that may (or may not) have very little in it that I am interested in or likely to want to reference.

There is even a cheaper way to archive: I am able to print anything to a .PDF [use Adobe Acrobat viewer to read] file rather than a printer. Storage nowadays is dirt cheap, be it hard disk, CD-R, or memory stick.

I think it would be ideal if this website's administrator could periodically backup or clone the whole website to a DVD disk image that could be downloaded and viewed offline. I have done that very thing with some small websites that I authored in the past.