The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I know a fellow who insists on calling cylinder records piano rolls. Talk about people who are dense.

As for cylinder records years ago some people called them "rollers".edisonplayer

You can't educate wilful ignorance. Your experience recalls a memorable, albeit contextually skewered conversation I had with a guy once.

How much is that phonograph?

You mean the crank record player?

No, the phonograph.

200 bucks. The recordplayer is like new.

Nahh, I want an old phonograph.

Huh?

I got too many new recordplayers.

edisonplayer wrote:As for cylinder records years ago some people called them "rollers".edisonplayer

I think want to start calling them that. Maybe I can help spur a revival of the term.

I actually saw a metal edison victrola label once on a machine in an antique store. Of course it was on a crap-o-phone. I tried telling the dealer the only time those two companies met was probably in court. Nobody ever wants to hear that. I don't think anyone made floor model crap-o-phones, but I suppose it's possible.

Every hobby is possessed of its share of know-it-alls. Those fellows who must always be right. And have the last word. Every conversation or discussion devolves into some sort of tiresome contest. The Germans have a great word for such a type; Ein Besserwisser.
Perhaps no group of collectors numbers more among them than the antique car hobby.

Being the voracious collectors and mechanical antique enthusiasts we are, phonographs frequently share our passions.
One of the men who aided me in the car hobby, when many others would ignore an overly enthusiastic kid was a fun loving, practical joke playing fellow who collected everything. Specializing in '31 to '34 Nashes, Reos and Marmons.
He was very patient with a beginner like me. One thing that drew me to him was his dislike of hypocrisy and a delight in exposing it in others.
One collector long dead, well fit the description of a narcissist. Anything discussed was not entirely accurate until he had passed judgement upon it. He was also a great liar. While majestically sipping a Manhattan he would bloviate us with tales of seemingly priceless finds, acquired under conditions Indiana Jones would envy.
Perfect foil for a practical joke.
Which is exactly what happened.
With a phonograph.
Originally my friend was going to dummy up an 1862 Springfield with phony confederate surcharge stamping, but that would have been really a crime against history.
He settled on a generic European horn phonograph. It may have been a Polydor. As it was missing the tonearm, he fitted a later Columbia thin pot-metal one that was laying about.
My contribution was to order gold letter decals from Shipley, the clock parts supplier.
He did a few other things, chiefly putting the most trashy looking stamped brass drawer pull on the side opposite the crank.
He took the gold letters and applied themto the front panel in a pleasing oval arch formation, then coated the whole with shellac, while waving a bernzomatic torch on it until it began alligatoring. Afterwards emptying the contents of a vacuum bag on it.
After a thorough brushing with brown shoe polish, he let it sit for a few months, spread it with dust again and placed it in the attic of a friend's rental, as he was in on the joke.
At one of the car club meeting the talk turned to antiques. Phonographs were brought up. Our target mentioning he had the rarest Edison Home suitcase model as it played 2 and 4 minute cylinders......a "special factory job" he stated....
Anyway. One fellow asked me if I didn't recall a horn machine in some attic in Patchogue.
I replied affirmatively and told him I'd provide the number.
Within two weeks he had called and bought the "crapophone". As this was 1976, genuine crapophones were comparatively scarce.
He was mighty proud of his new acquisition, although typically he refused to show it to anyone. But he was planning to bring it to a mechanical music show in Connecticut.

The gold lettering on the front?

COLUMBIAN GRAB-O-TONE

Although Edison never made a Victrola phonograph, he did make a Victor model, correct?

marcapra wrote:Although Edison never made a Victrola phonograph, he did make a Victor model, correct?

Well, "he" didn't, but the Edison Phonograph Works did!

This is from the Fall 1901 catalog...

George P.

Wolfe wrote:So.

I bet a lot of you phono collector guys / chicks could wade into another collector's hobby and commit the same sort of faux paus.

"Oh, you didn't know that a postage stamp isn't always called a postage stamp, did you ?"

Yes, exactly. So many times eBay sellers, Craigslist sellers, etc., get chastised here because they don't know what took us many years to find out. Why or how should they know all these details? Why beat up on them just because they're not experts in somebody else's hobby? Jeeze.

It wasn't until he insisted that the metal manufacturer's plate which he said was attached inside the cabinet specifically stated "Edison Victrola" that I knew something was wrong.

I beg to differ! I've seen phonographs with metal tags inside that say Edison Victrola on them.