The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Edisonfan wrote:Maybe George F. Paul could shed some more light on these behemoths.

Gee - that sounds pretty formal!

The best resource is the new Sherman/Nauck book, The Collector's Guide to Victor Records, but here's an earlier thread on these...

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ial#p24815

George P.

I don't mean to sidetrack the thread, but I'm actually lucky enough to have not only one of those huge Pathé discs, but also a machine that will play it (although the speed must be turned up to about 120 rpm)... I rarely play it and was even considering selling it, but there's just no way I'd feel comfortable shipping it.

Yea, I would not ship it either.

Hey George, you wrote the book on Antique phonographs, well several with Timothy Fabrizo. So who better to ask about this?

Paul

Edisonfan wrote: Hey George, you wrote the book on Antique phonographs, well several with Timothy Fabrizo. So who better to ask about this?

I'm always happy to help whenever I can, and there are many other qualified folks on this board who feel the same, I'm sure. I was just joking about the "George F. Paul" part. I think the last time someone called me that, I was getting a diploma or something!

George P.

Didn't Pathé's disc sizes go up to a whopping 20 inches?

Yes, Pathé did make records up to 20 inches, but they are all boring orchestral pieces. Nice to hang on your wall as a curiosity item (provided your wall is strong enough, these beasts are heavy!), but no more than that. For some reason they are very much sought after here in Holland. I know that years ago one record sold for over 500 Dutch Guilders (220 Euro). A cracked one can still make around 100 Euro. And not because of the musical content as said before, because there are a zillion Pathé discs around for under 5 euro containing the same stuff. After all they were all copied from the same master cylinders. And just try and find a machine able to play that horrible format at 120 RPM for over 4 minutes. Let alone the doctor's bill for handling such heavy records, because they weigh a ton...

Well thank you for the information! I did not realize that Pathé` had made 14 inch and even 20 inch discs? I did know that Columbia made a 14 inch disc as well, but only from reading "The Talking Machine Compendium" I thought the only 20 inch discs were the metal ones, used for Regina Music Boxes. Because I have seem some of those large machines.


Well, I if I can find two 8 inch Victor records, maybe someday I will get lucky, and find a Victor 14 Inch Disc Record.


Paul