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Thanks for your data, Marcel.

Your second example - the one without the data plate - might have originally been sold as a "caseless" $10 model, and the owner purchased the case for it later. Check the rear edge of the metal base plate for a serial number. If you can find a number anywhere on the edge, that's your answer.

Thanks again,

George P.

Hi I just bought a minty Type B Graphophone last night!! The decal is so clean I thought it was repro the first time I saw it. It doesn't have the tag on the mandral. I thought it was maybe missing but I am gathering from this post that it sometimes didn't have one. Is this right? I will post more info after I look at it closer....
Thanks,
Peter

phono10 wrote:Hi I just bought a minty Type B Graphophone last night!! The decal is so clean I thought it was repro the first time I saw it. It doesn't have the tag on the mandral. I thought it was maybe missing but I am gathering from this post that it sometimes didn't have one. Is this right? I will post more info after I look at it closer....
Thanks,
Peter

That's right - - the first 10,000 or so Eagles didn't have mandrel tags. Others have occasionally fallen off later examples...

George P.

This one's unusual -- a exhibitor's carrying box made of cheap pine, carefully painted in a 'faux' burlwood finish on the exterior, with a paper Sears label on top. The crank and speed control are extended to fit the wide box.

1) Serial number? -- None.
2) 4 rubber feet or 3? -- N/A
3) Spring barrel secured by 4-screw plates or by 1-screw tabs? -- 4
4) Is the 3rd gear the same width as the 1st gear? -- No
5) Which cities are listed on the lid decal? -- N/A
6) Does the lid handle have a metal cap at each end? Or is it all-wood? -- N/A
7) Is there a decal on the rear of the lid? If so, which exhibition is listed? -- N/A
8) Are there any small letters stamped in the baseplate? -- No
9) Is there a mandrel tag affixed to the small end of the mandrel? -- Yes
10) If the belt cover is present, is it plain or stamped? -- Not present, presumed missing (screw holes are there)

George,

Here is my contribution (and I would love to see my name in the credits of one of your publications ). I don't know if my machine has been tampered, but I believe it to be all original.

1) Serial number 82076
2) 4 rubber feet or 3? 3
3) Spring barrel secured by 4-screw plates or by 1-screw tabs? 4 screw plates
4) Is the 3rd gear the same width as the 1st gear? thinner
5) Which cities are listed on the lid decal? New York
6) Does the lid handle have a metal cap at each end? Or is it all-wood? All wood
7) Is there a decal on the rear of the lid? If so, which exhibition is listed? No rear lid decal
8) Are there any small letters stamped in the baseplate? none that I can see (where would they be?)
9) Is there a mandrel tag affixed to the small end of the mandrel? yes
10) If the belt cover is present, is it plain or stamped?

Can you provide an approximate date, or time window, of manufacture?

Thanks.

TinfoilPhono wrote:This one's unusual -- a exhibitor's carrying box made of cheap pine, carefully painted in a 'faux' burlwood finish on the exterior, with a paper Sears label on top. The crank and speed control are extended to fit the wide box.

Interesting machine. How does one place a cylinder on the mandrel? Does the side of the box open, or do you have to remove the speed control and winding key and remove the unit from the box? If the latter, it would appear the it was intended to remain in the box. Is there clearance for a horn? is there room for a horn in the box for transport?.

Very cool.

Thanks, Rene, for posting that unique Eagle. (But how am I supposed to catagorize that?! )

Brad, please let me know your last name! Also, you didn't answer question #10, but I think I see lettering stamped in the belt cover. If so, I suspect the original blank cover was replaced with a later one. Ditto with the mandrel tag - - your Eagle is too early to have one.

As for an approximate date of manufacture, I'm still working on that. Without giving away my formulas/conclusions prematurely (and before writing the article), I would date your machine to the fall of 1897. I'd like more machines to add to my sample - - I have 26 so far, but nearly 150,000 of these were manufactured!

Thanks for you help!

George P.

Yes, it is stamped. (I did answer, but some of the text disappeared and I had to re-type, I guess it went a little farther back than I thought.)

I won this machine at auction via absentee bid with only seeing one picture and it was listed as including a lot of 30 cylinders. There were 29 2 minute and one BA - Never Forget by the Man himself in excellent condition with original box and lid. I was very happy

Man, I wish I could help out with this in some way, but I've got no Eagle to post info on I'm guessing this is coming up in a new book/edition? There sure have been lotsa neat finds this Summer, enough to fill a book. They might not be the deals like "Graphophone Type K for $25 at a yard sale" that occurred in the '50s, but nice finds can be still be found, which gives collectors hope. Guess these unraided attics and cellars have been multiplying lately, eh?

Brad wrote:How does one place a cylinder on the mandrel?

The holes in the box for the winding key and speed control are elongated enough that the right end of the motor board can be tilted up high enough to replace the record without the controls binding in the openings. The holes in the base of the board fit over steel pins in the wooden box so they're not permanently affixed, just held in position. It's awkward but quite effective.

I'm unsure about the open slot in front when the lid is closed. At first I thought it was to let it play with eartubes in place, but that won't work. Yet the hook latch was designed to reach over the gap in the front. That is still a mystery to me.

This is exactly as I found it at the old Bound Brook show in 1995 or 1996.