The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

George, I went to see the guy you suggested, he fixed my tone arm! Thank you so much for the recommendation.

Now that it's fixed, here are some better photos of the inside. Someone had said they may be able to narrow down the date.

Elaine,

I'm glad everything worked out for you. Enjoy!

If you haven't already found it, the Antique Phonograph Society web site has articles that are free to the public. Just click on the "Articles" tab, then on "Introductory" on the drop-down menu.

https://www.antiquephono.org/

(There are additional articles and approx. 20,000 pages of documents for APS members.)

George P.

Elaine, I just want to congratulate you for entering a hobby like this. It is very rewarding and fun, and we need new members. We not only need more members, but we need more women in this hobby. Not many would have sought out help to fix your problem, but you saw it through and got it fixed. That's terrific!

You've asked a couple of times about the model and date of your Columbia. I used to own one similar to yours. The model number might be in small print below the Grafonola decal, or there might be a factory sticker underneath the cabinet. You might need some help to look there as you would need to turn the machine on its side. I have a copy of Robert Baumbach's book Columbia Phonograph Companion Vol. II c. 1996, that covers Columbia's disc phonographs. I believe your machine might be a model 75 or 85, which referred to their prices, and was finished in walnut. These models were introduced in 1915 and were made probably until 1918 when new models came out. The dimensions of both of these cabinets were H 41 ⅞", W 19", D 21". The difference between the two models were the 75 just had slanted record slats that could store 75 records, while the model 85 had buttons with record ejectors and could store 45 records. Hope that helps. Also if you ever watch reruns of the show Seinfeld, Elaine has a Columbia like yours in her apartment.


Marc.