The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

pictureroll wrote:Wanamaker Dept Store is now Macy's Center City and is very much alive.
It has the Largest fully working Pipe Organ in the world and is played three times every business day.

Right you are, but it's Macy's, not Wanamaker's!

EarlH wrote: That music holder is sort of a bizarre addition and the gal doing the tag sale said there was a HUGE amount of sheet music in the house, along with a really nice looking upright piano. She thought there was a bunch of violin music in there, but I wonder if someone played an instrument where they sat down? That would make more sense than putting that music holder low for a child. Unless the kid was taking lessons on something where sitting would be the norm.

Earl, that's not a music stand at all. It's a record holder. Note the curved bottom member. The wide, flat metal piece would hide a goodly chunk of the page, were this a sheet music stand; this would render it useless for a musician, plus it's mounted too low for any practical use, as you've noted. OTOH, it's in a good location for holding records that you've removed from the cabinet and want to play next, or have finished playing, 'til you put them away for the next session.

You know, you might be on to something there. I guess that would have never occurred to me as other than holding a book, it wouldn't work well for music at all unless there's a board or something missing that also sets in it. I'll have to put some records in it and see how that does! Those early boxes are record breakers unless you are really careful with them, so maybe something like this makes sense. It's too bad in all that paper work, there isn't any mention of that thing. I'll have to look it over more closely as it seems like it says something like "Duplex" on it and patent pending. The gal I got it from said they were a very musical family and there was a few other instruments around besides the piano but the nieces and nephews kept those.

Henry wrote:

EarlH wrote: That music holder is sort of a bizarre addition and the gal doing the tag sale said there was a HUGE amount of sheet music in the house, along with a really nice looking upright piano. She thought there was a bunch of violin music in there, but I wonder if someone played an instrument where they sat down? That would make more sense than putting that music holder low for a child. Unless the kid was taking lessons on something where sitting would be the norm.

Earl, that's not a music stand at all. It's a record holder. Note the curved bottom member. The wide, flat metal piece would hide a goodly chunk of the page, were this a sheet music stand; this would render it useless for a musician, plus it's mounted too low for any practical use, as you've noted. OTOH, it's in a good location for holding records that you've removed from the cabinet and want to play next, or have finished playing, 'til you put them away for the next session.

Henry,
I was thinking about this thing today at work and after I mentioned what a pain I think those books can be to use and they will break records as well, it occurred to me that this might have been what that thing did. It actually was made in Moline where the machine was bought, so maybe there is some connection to the music company it was bought at. Anyway, it really works well for holding those albums but it sure increases the wingspan of that Victrola. It's really hard to believe it stayed with the thing all of these years.

Wow. That attachment just adds even more to an already incredible ensemble of original memorabilia. What a spectacular find!

Earl, it looks like it works even better than I had envisioned. It's perfect for those album boxes, just as you have shown. I was thinking that separate disks would fit the radius curve of the bottom metal piece, and I guess it could work that way, but offer little protection for bare records. So I think you've found the ideal use for it right there!

Oh no Henry, this one is on you! I would never have thought of putting an album in the thing otherwise. It honestly didn't make much sense as a music holder with it being as heavy as it is, but the gal I bought the machine from said they played the violin, and sang with the thing when it was new. She thought it was a sheet music holder, and they certainly had some other odd patents going on in those days. I'll have to go through those receipts a little more carefully when I have time and see if it's mentioned in any of them. Maybe, since it was made down in Moline, the music store owner put that thing with the machine to help get you to buy it. They certainly weren't supposed to discount the price at all back then but they could offer some premiums. I'm glad they didn't just attach it to the side of the thing, it has some large screws going into the back of the case. I'll have to look as see if they put a block of wood behind it.

It does make the thing hog up a lot more space, but it really works well to hold those albums to pull records out of them. Obviously, those contraptions didn't sell well and as heavy as it is with an 12" albums full of records hanging out there, a lesser machine would just tip over!

Thanks, Earl. Now I need one of those for my XI! BTW, your XVI looks like a beauty---congratulations.

My 1910 VV-XVI had this interesting letter in its drawer. Don't know why the owner would not have disposed of it, but I found it interesting.