Phonograph Hunting in Your area

[Ampico66]

Are phonographs plentiful in your area? Are prices low or high? How far do you usually drive to buy one? Where do you find them for sale?

I wonder about "antique deserts" where younger metro areas with newer buildings may lack a supply of old stuff.

Here in St. Louis, upright cabinet phonographs are exceedingly common and inexpensive. Of course, earlier outside horn phonographs are uncommon to find for sale, nor are they ever low-priced. 78s are pretty easy to find from the 1910s - 1920s (and later, of course) and usually very reasonably priced.

Damon
St. Louis, MO (USA)

[Nat]

Seattle is a wasteland, except for cheap off-brand models and the most common Victors and Edisons. ditto records.

[kirtley2012]

here in newcastle, UK, there is nothing! in 2-3 years of buying machines i have found a wrecked edison fireside and a columbia 202 portable, although i did find a un named cabinet machine and i bought it, it was so full of wood worm i had to salvage all the parts possible then burn the rest, they are the only ones i saw for sale in person, most things have to be brought to me!

[Steve]

here in newcastle, UK, there is nothing! in 2-3 years of buying machines i have found a wrecked edison fireside and a columbia 202 portable, although i did find a un named cabinet machine and i bought it, it was so full of wood worm i had to salvage all the parts possible then burn the rest, they are the only ones i saw for sale in person, most things have to be brought to me!

Don't feel bad, Alex, most of the UK is like that unless you live in either the SE Home Counties or the retirement areas, the SW!

In 22 years of collecting in the Midland Shire Counties I've only found, within a 25 mile radius of wherever I've been living (I've moved around within a 20 miles radius) at the time, the following:

HMV 101 portable - average condition in 'antique shop'
HMV 112 portable - in badly restored condition in 'antique shop'
Columbia horn machine ("Sterling"), later model with MUCH later cheap non-fitting horn in need of repair / repaint - from 'antique shop'
HMV Library Bijou Grand No. 12 - good condition from horrendously over-priced Cotswolds antique shop
A few poor tatty off-brand black leather cloth covered portables at flea markets and the very odd car boot sale.

That's it after 22 years!

All the rest have come from one of the following sources:

1. Specialist dealers
2. Other collectors disposing of stuff
3. Specialist fairs - from CLPGS to NVCF
4. Special designated auctions of mechanical music items - from Christies to SAS Auctions
5. Ebay

Most purchases have come from a LONG way off.

[estott]

My area is generally the usual Victors and an occasional Diamond Disc machine. Some nice things turn up though- within the last couple years a Viva Tonal console, a Victor 8-12X and 8-35X turned up on the local market, plus the empty case for a Borgia. Of course when I say local I'm taking in a fairly wide area- the Tri City area and nearby- anything within a 45 minute drive from my house.

[FloridaClay]

Around here Craig’s List is the most fruitful—sometimes specific listings and sometimes garage and estate sale listings that just mention “phonograph” or “Victrola” in their laundry list of offerings.

Of course it is very much hit and miss. You see a lot of worthless junk before you find a keeper and sometimes people have wildly unrealistic ideas of what they have is worth; e.g., an L-door in so-so condition a lady was emotionally attached to and insisted she would not part with for less than $2,500, a local pawn shop listing an average off brand upright at $900 or so for months.

But every now and then you find something nice and reasonably priced. It just takes patience and an eye for what’s under the dirt. In the last year or so I’ve picked up a fairly rare VV 9-15, a VV-IX, a VV XVI, an A250 Diamond Disk, a Credenza, etc. There were others as well that were decent that I just had no room for. No block buster rare super bargains yet, but who knows what's around the corner.

Being in Florida there are a fair number of estate sales when retirees pass away. The children don’t want grandma or grandpa’s stuff and just want to clear out the condo or house so they can sell it. I have also found a couple of nice things at sales by former antique dealers who have closed up shop and were selling off remaining inventory to get it out of their garage.

Clay

[briankeith]

I live in New Jersey, not far from the Edison plant in West Orange. Here I find a lot of Edison and Victor machines, but mainly at simple yard sales and outdoor flea markets. I avoid the high dollar antique shops that are on every corner in New Jersey. My best find in recent years came from a local garage sale close by in Maplewood, New Jersey. I bought an Edison Diamond Disc machine in beautiful oak. The machine came with 262 Edison Diamnond Disc records including perfect sleeves. The machine included a needle cut adapter, an extra reproducer still straped on the mount behind the grille, an Edison oil can, a full jar of Edison grease, and all the paperwork when the machine was purchased brand new in Newark, New Jersey. All this for just under $500.00!

[larryh]

Hi Damon,

Been a while since we discussed the phonographs on line.. Out here in Southern Illinois I see an occasional Edison at a antique mall for the most part. Some medium sized Victors and of course the off brands that people ask way too much for. Generally as all most all antique dealers go things are priced way above a realistic price most of the time. Auctions are the most fruitful as far as pricing goes. It rather shows that past the collectors or antique fans the machines pretty much are unwanted out here. I recently saw a pretty nice S19 sell for 125.00 with a conversion attachment and box and a edison duster. Why I didn't buy it I am not sure but generally I don't like having too much stuff around so I passed. They did have some very interesting orthophonic and acoustic vertical cut records that I bought and it had some pretty nice titles and they were in like new shape, a very unusual thing to find in farm country. A moving sale has a Walnut Victor a few years ago and it finally went for 75.00.. Again I passed. I got my upright S19 for 25.00 at an auction but it needed a head and fairly major repairs but doable. I picked up a william and mary console at one point for 5.00 at a sale. But that was probably 15 years ago by now. I saw a pretty nice Brunswick nicer console go for 75.00 and that was to relative or it would have gone cheaper. Around me there are those kinds of buys now and then if one seeks them out. Craigs list on the other hand is scanned constantly by those living probably mostly near your or the chicago region and if something of interest comes up one best buy it quick as they disappear within a day at the most.. I saw a nice Columbia Via Tonal show up one day for 50.00 and the next thing I knew it was sold. Craigs list is interesting but unless your prepared to drop everything an rush somewhere it may be gone.. What I don't see out here are any decent Edison Records. I would guess the ones with the S19 at the action had been picked over by someone before had as the regular records had many hot dance type pieces, the edisons from the same people had none. I am still kicking my self for getting rid of a large stack of Classical Pathés I ran into at a sale out here quite a while back, all center start european black labels. I think I paid about a dollar for a whole box of them an at the time somehow I didn't quite understand how to get them to play correctly and eventually got rid of them.. Dumb..

Larry

[premis2]

I'm from Southern WI and there are plenty of common Victors and Edisons for sale. Recent listings have been for a late restored Victrola XVI L Door asking $350 A Victrola VV 405 for $200.00 or best offer. An 8-30 Credenza in excellent original shape with a great condition pot metal and a wonderful sounding reproducer for $300.00. A VV VIII with Exhibition reproducer, excellent original condition, $90 A Columbia Viva tonal 700 series machine in great condition for $75.00 Prices seem to be artificially low and the machines plentiful

I will travel up to 500 miles roundtrip if the machine is worth it.

At this time I am out of real estate to house all these machines so the Viva Tonal I had to take a pass on.

[Lucius1958]

Not too bad around here in southern New England: lots of Victrolas, a fair amount of Edisons, some Brunswicks and Columbias...

My last two machines took me up into Massachusetts, both in the same general area...

Bill