Brown Wax Cylinder find!

[Edisonfan]

Okay, while doing some antiquing today. I found six brown wax cylinder records, in Edison containers, with the cotton wading for $3.00 a piece! Naturally I had to buy them. I have seen what one brown wax cylinder goes for on Ebay! I do not know what is on them, since I can find no markings?

[edisonphonoworks]

Nice find, and nice boxes, these would be 1901 era records, correct, just before the Gold Molded ones, as in just a few months the flat Ended black wax records came out. You should post the cylinders on Youtube when you have a chance. I still think some of these could be molded, but alas there is no way to prove that.

[Edisonfan]

I just did a video, that I am going to upload to YouTube!

[Lucius1958]

Nice find, and nice boxes, these would be 1901 era records, correct, just before the Gold Molded ones, as in just a few months the flat Ended black wax records came out. You should post the cylinders on Youtube when you have a chance. I still think some of these could be molded, but alas there is no way to prove that.

Well, I don't know if Edison produced any molded brown wax records; but the couple of Columbia MBWs I've seen had the title engraved in the dead wax at the end... I don't know whether they all had them, though.

Bill

[FellowCollector]

It's always nice to find these, Paul. Good job. Unfortunately, the original cotton padding around these coupled with less than perfect (ie. temperature / humidity fluctuation) storage conditions, creates havoc for many of these and most are found nearly unplayable due to mold / moisture damage. At least that has been my experience with the ones I have found. I believe these were originally sold with titled "tags" on heavy paper inserted into the top of the cotton padding. Many of the tags were lost / tossed. I have found a number of these over the years that I'm sure were unsold dealer stock with the tags inside but alas they were unplayable when I unfolded the cotton. Oh well. Hopefully yours will be playable. - Doug

[52089]

Okay, while doing some antiquing today. I found six brown wax cylinder records, in Edison containers, with the cotton wading for $3.00 a piece! Naturally I had to buy them. I have seen what one brown wax cylinder goes for on Ebay! I do not know what is on them, since I can find no markings?

You probably already know, but it's worth mentioning just in case, that these should not be played with the Model C or later reproducers, because the weight will wear the grooves down very quickly. Use a Model B or earlier on brown wax.

[Edisonfan]

That's what I thought? Someone said, oh you don't need to do that, they will play fine on your machine! I just thought I remember someone telling me to use a model "B" stylus. Now all I have to do is find one.

[HisMastersVoice]

That's what I thought? Someone said, oh you don't need to do that, they will play fine on your machine! I just thought I remember someone telling me to use a model "B" stylus. Now all I have to do is find one.

A machine with a floating reproducer would be ok too, like a Columbia Graphophone B or Q

[edisonphonoworks]

Most likely even at this time, the brown wax was pantographed from 5" concert records, however from court cases, there is the tantalizing notion that Edison was experimenting with the gold molded process, as early as 1888 and by 1894 it was working and Charles and Frank Wurth as well as Dr.S as seen in this court testimony. A Gold Moulded mold was made, and a standard spiral core brown wax blank of very close tolerance were put in the mold, and heated, and a tapered mandrel forced the plastic blank to the side of the grooved mold, and upon cooling a duplicate was made, there would be no way of knowing if it was molded as it looks just like a regular brown wax record. We may never know which are pantographed and which are molded..

[Edisonfan]

Thank you for the info!