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Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:26 am
by edisonplayer
I read that Columbia made some of the late cylinder Graphophones to play 4 minute as well as 2 minute cylinders.edisonplayer
Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 10:45 am
by FellowCollector
phonogfp wrote:Beautiful BGT, Doug.
I too have used Nevr-Dull for years, but after seeing your "before & after" shots and reading of your experiment, I'll be trying Flitz.
The banner decals on the BG/BGTs seem to often age poorly, but yours looks nice. By the way, the decal suggests your BGT dates from 1905/06. It may have started life as a BG and then been upgraded by a dealer or the original owner. The awards decal on the rear may offer additional clues. What's the last date displayed on it?
Congratulations again on a wonderful find.
George P.
Thanks for your kind comments George! I had wondered about this myself.
The earlier 'The Graphophone' decal adorning my BGT here strongly suggests (as you mentioned) that this machine began life as a model BG and, in fact, the model designation indicates "Model BG" on the nickel plated gear cover.
The only provenance I have for this machine is that it was originally owned by a gentleman in his 90's who lived in Springfield, MA and I have every reason to believe that this machine was in his family from the beginning in the Springfield area.
I can only presume that the machine was originally purchased circa 1906 and then sometime in (or after) 1907 with the introduction of the tonearm assembly on Columbia cylinder Graphophones including the BGT, the original owners opted to upgrade their machine with the tonearm assembly at that time, in effect, making it a BGT.
The mounting was obviously professionally done and I'm 100% confident that it was done either by the Columbia factory in Bridgeport, CT (not far from Springfield) or by a skilled dealer in Columbia Graphophones.
It's also plausible that this machine was manufactured during the crossover period circa late 1906 / early 1907 when the Columbia factory was phasing out the model BG in favor of the BGT and used the remaining stock of (factory stamped) "BG" top works for the new tonearm model BGT's. Thus selling it as a model BGT with the BG stamp on the gear cover. Just my thoughts.
Doug
Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 11:18 am
by phonogfp
I'm in full agreement, Doug. The conversion to "T" was professionally done, in all probability by a dealer or other Graphophone representative.
That's the way to find them!
George P.
Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 9:33 am
by OrthoSean
FellowCollector wrote:
You will love FLITZ!.....
Your model BET will thank you for using the FLITZ. Would love to see pics of your BET sometime! Thanks again, Sean!
Doug
Well, I pulled the trigger on Amazon and ordered a 2 pound TUB of the stuff for $40 since I had to get some Meguiars scratch X anyway for a model A Fireside I'm going to clean up. I took the BET off the shelf last night to play some Lamberts and it's really dirty (I never touched it), so we shall see hopefully by next week. I'll be sure to take some good before and after photos and share them here. I'm actually looking forward to digging into it!
Sean
Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 7:34 pm
by FellowCollector
OrthoSean wrote:FellowCollector wrote:
You will love FLITZ!.....
Your model BET will thank you for using the FLITZ. Would love to see pics of your BET sometime! Thanks again, Sean!
Doug
Well, I pulled the trigger on Amazon and ordered a 2 pound TUB of the stuff for $40 since I had to get some Meguiars scratch X anyway for a model A Fireside I'm going to clean up. I took the BET off the shelf last night to play some Lamberts and it's really dirty (I never touched it), so we shall see hopefully by next week. I'll be sure to take some good before and after photos and share them here. I'm actually looking forward to digging into it!
Sean
WOW Sean!! 2 pounds of FLITZ! I had no idea it was available in that size. Can't wait to hear what you think when you try it! I might do the same!
Doug
Re: Columbia BGT Graphophone
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 7:11 am
by OrthoSean
Yeah, I figured buying the huge tub of the stuff should last me a good 20-30 years!
Sean