The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I acquired my first Edison Sample record 12" at the Silent Auction. I also bought another Edison Long Play 12" disc. I've been looking for a Sample Record for years and was always outbid on Ebay! Thanks to Jerry Blais' delivery service, I took delivery of a Victrola Credenza VE 8-30X and a huge Columbia Viva-Tonal 810, which are shown in the post "Mahogany or Walnut?" Marc.

Do you know who had this Home?

As I write this, my wife and I are still “recovering” from a 1700-mile, week-long road trip through New England. As we unpacked the car late Sunday afternoon, I was thinking to myself that the dealers and buyers at the APS Show & Banquet were doing much the same thing at that moment. But there was one big difference: I came home with nothing phonographic. True, this was a pleasure trip, and I should emphasize that we had a wonderful time. But while exploring 12-15 antique shops in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York State (a few of them large co-ops), a true collector can’t help but hope for a score. I did indeed find a number of phonographs and records, but common models/titles, poor-to-marginal condition, and unreasonably high prices were the rule. Unrestored Edison Homes and Standards were typically $895 and common Victrolas ranged from $395 to $600. A battered and re-painted Edison MG horn for a Standard was $200. The best deal of the trip was a plain (undecorated) Hawthorne & Sheble MG horn with heavily scratched/flaking original dark blue paint for $100. As far as I know, it’s still available in Ellsworth, Maine.

Contrast these disappointing finds with the APS Annual Show & Banquet that just occurred. I mentioned to my bride upon finding the tatty Hawthorne & Sheble horn, “This almost seems like a good deal in the wild, but I wouldn’t give it a second look at a phonograph show.” And that, in a nutshell, illustrates the real value of these events. Concentrated in one place are scores of phonographs, thousands of records, and more ephemera than you’re likely to encounter in years of searching antique shops. Forty years ago when I was in the mood to buy an antique phonograph, I would jump in the ’68 Nova and do the local antique shop circuit. These days, I squirrel away my money and wait for a show. There was more sitting on one or two tables at the APS show than I found in driving over 1700 miles! (EBay of course remains a significant source, but the risks of dishonest sellers, creative camerawork, poor packaging, and rough handling must be considered, as seen in this recent post: http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=22687. There’s no substitute for personal inspection and taking immediate delivery.)

Like many of you, I envy those who were able to attend the largest phonograph/record show on the West Coast. The reports I received were uniformly positive. I’ve seen some video taken of Colin Hancock, Janet Klein, and Randy Woltz performing at the banquet, and it looked like a wonderful time. The acoustic recording session and playback of an outstanding brown wax recording resulted in several standing ovations for the talent (a "first" for the APS banquet, I'm told). I’m looking forward to the DVD (soon to be available on the APS website); it will be the next-best thing to having been there.

George P.