!An Actual Lost Treasure!

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solophoneman
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by solophoneman »

I have to believe that particular banner exclaiming "The Perfected Graphophone" was only used for a extremely short time frame in the history of the Gramphophone making this exceptionally desirable for those of us who not only collect early examples but truly appreciate the history of the transitional periods in the development of the phonograph, graphophone and gramophone. I may have to call the bank and see what they are offering for rates on a home equity loan. heh heh

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MordEth
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by MordEth »

phonogfp wrote:These gutta percha reproducers are constructed in essentially the same manner as the later aluminum ones, but are a bit lighter and don't reproduce with as much volume.
George,

Thanks for posting that—I cannot say that I‘ve ever seen a gutta-percha reproducer prior to you posting it. Did they originally use gutta-percha because it was easier to work with than aluminum?
solophoneman wrote:I may have to call the bank and see what they are offering for rates on a home equity loan. heh heh
At the rate this auction you may well need to take the loan, to be able to afford it. With 6 days remaining, it’s already at $3,050.00 (and was at $970.56 when I looked a couple of hours ago). I have the feeling that it’s going to go for big money.

— MordEth

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solophoneman
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by solophoneman »

Yes this appears to be a very competitive auction with several collectors who just gutta percha se it regardless of the potential final cost involved.

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phonogfp
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by phonogfp »

MordEth wrote:
phonogfp wrote:These gutta percha reproducers are constructed in essentially the same manner as the later aluminum ones, but are a bit lighter and don't reproduce with as much volume.
George,

Thanks for posting that—I cannot say that I‘ve ever seen a gutta-percha reproducer prior to you posting it. Did they originally use gutta-percha because it was easier to work with than aluminum?

— MordEth

I suspect that the gutta percha was (originally at least) less expensive than aluminum. It may well have been easier to handle, since it can be molded at relatively low temperatures. In any event, American Graphophone adopted aluminum reproducers in July/August 1897.

When the Type "N" was introduced in September 1895, it was at first equipped with the g-p reproducer, as were the earliest (Washington DC) Type "A" Graphophones. Note that the lettering on the gutta percha reproducers is positioned so it can be read while hanging DOWN from the carriage of early Graphophones.

George P.

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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by MordEth »

phonogfp wrote:I suspect that the gutta percha was (originally at least) less expensive than aluminum. It may well have been easier to handle, since it can be molded at relatively low temperatures. In any event, American Graphophone adopted aluminum reproducers in July/August 1897.
Ah. I wasn’t sure if it was an ‘ease of manufacture’ decision, or a ‘cost’ decision. Although I imagine that as time went by, it became cheaper to make things out of aluminum.
phonogfp wrote:Note that the lettering on the gutta percha reproducers is positioned so it can be read while hanging DOWN from the carriage of early Graphophones.
I noticed that. Did this change with the aluminum replacement model?

George: Thanks again for all of the information you’ve provided so far in this thread; it’s been very educational and I’m glad that Aaron linked the eBay listing.

— MordEth

P.S. I see that eBay Item #330319344521 is still at the same price (for now), although it still surprises me how rapidly that shot up, with so much time remaining in the auction.
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phonogfp
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by phonogfp »

MordEth wrote:
phonogfp wrote:Note that the lettering on the gutta percha reproducers is positioned so it can be read while hanging DOWN from the carriage of early Graphophones.
I noticed that. Did this change with the aluminum replacement model?

— MordEth

P.S. I see that eBay Item #330319344521 is still at the same price (for now), although it still surprises me how rapidly that shot up, with so much time remaining in the auction.
Yes - it changed with the aluminum model. At least I've never seen an aluminum reproducer with the lettering positioned for legibility while upside-down. The Type "K" Graphophone (also called the "Standard Graphophone" during 1896-97) was replaced by the Type "C" (Universal) Graphophone in the late summer of 1897. This coincided with the appearance of the new aluminum reproducer, so there would have been no reason to retain the old lettering.

George P.

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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by Aaron »

Valecnik wrote:NICE FIND Aaron. The only bad thing is that you didn't find it yourself at some garage sale locally for $75! Had that been the case I might even have bought it for you!

The chances of a machine like this turning up in such good condition, not already part of a collection are REALLY low as others have noted.

Cheers, Bruce

Bruce,

I wish i could find one of these at a yard sale for $75... the only thing is you must be more generous then i because i wouldn't buy it for anyone else... :lol:

And George thanks for show us the pic of the reproducer... i knew what they looked like but now you have me dreaming of finding a type U at a yard sale... :roll:

Dave-- Dont think up a price for this machine because you'll be very suprised at how much it goes for. I could probably put in a bid of $6000 right now and be way out bid in an hour... if not immediatly...

Bests Everyone,
Aaron

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solophoneman
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by solophoneman »

Wow I just noticed that the seller is only about 45 minutes from here, that makes the price a little bit more affordable knowing that I could just pick it up, I guess I will go in and ----------- oh oh wait a minute its now up to almost 5 grand?? Oh well, maybe I'll find one some day at a yard sale.

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phonogfp
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

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...And it's only getting started! ;)

George P.

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solophoneman
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Re: !An Actual Lost Treasure!

Post by solophoneman »

It is now up over $8,000!!! One interesting thing to note about the banner, on page 71 of Hazelcorn's Columbia Phonograph Companion Volume 1 it says "The front banner decal reads "The Perfect Graphophone" on early models and "The Graphophone" on later ones. (Both have the Washington DC address. Since the serial number range on the Type K was 11295-20307, you would have thought that this one would have had the later banner which simply says "The Graphophone" since it is almost at the end of the run with a serial number of 20207. I will concede that some of the early electric models were later converted over to spring models, but this is not not one of them, since the converted electrics have serial numbers under 20,000, and have patent plates which are circular or semicircular in shape and either screwed inside the lid or bolted to the bedplate. So this one is definitely a regular production spring motor unit. So I wonder what gives with the early banner? Hmmm maybe they ran out of the new ones, and slapped one of the old ones on this one, making it kind of a one of a kind oddity for an extremely late K?

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