The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Ahhh, after finding the thread, I must not have noticed others chiming in after the post I based my assumption on!

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 814#p93814

marcapra wrote:I made the mistake of buying a dolphin key advertised as an Edison key for my C-250 and it didn't work. I later found out that dolphin keys were very popular keys for many types of furniture back then and the key I bought was not for a phonograph. The short dolphins keys for Edison fit the Amberola 1-A and 1-b, as well as the A-250s, etc.

So, the question begs to be asked; Were there indeed Dolphin keys that were manufactured for a particular lockset that were different from "standard" Dolphin keys?

Fran

OrthoSean wrote:George is correct, the dolphin key is correct for most C-250s. You want the double cut one, not the single cut. The single cut key, from my experience, seems to have only been used on early "A" series machines. Hope this helps clear up a little confusion.

Sean

I guess I posted too slowly!

Thank you Sean for the explanation!

Fran

Once again, you may find this guide helpful:

http://www.oldcrank.com/articles/keys/keys.html

52089 wrote:Once again, you may find this guide helpful:

http://www.oldcrank.com/articles/keys/keys.html

So does this mean that the "E" key will fit both the C250 and the C19, but the "Dolphin" key will only fit the A/B/C250? I would love to know what the difference is in the lock(s) pertaining to the second notch.

Fran

fran604g wrote:

52089 wrote:Once again, you may find this guide helpful:

http://www.oldcrank.com/articles/keys/keys.html

So does this mean that the "E" key will fit both the C250 and the C19, but the "Dolphin" key will only fit the A/B/C250? I would love to know what the difference is in the lock(s) pertaining to the second notch.

Fran

Definitely maybe

I own a dolphin key that came with my 1A and an E key that came with my C19. Both have 2 notches on the end. Both keys work in both locks.

De Soto Frank wrote: That grille cloth looks to be original

I believe Edison cloth was plain silk, not with the gold zig-zags seen here. This looks like speaker cloth for a radio.

Edisone wrote:

De Soto Frank wrote: That grille cloth looks to be original

I believe Edison cloth was plain silk, not with the gold zig-zags seen here. This looks like speaker cloth for a radio.

It would be nice to find something authoritative on grille cloth used on various machines. I have a fumed oak case C19 with a gold color cloth that perfectly complements the oak and is somewhat similar to the cloth on Scott's machine. Viewed from the back, the cloth is a white fabric, with sort of a linen-like weave to it and with a red thread running vertically about every inch. The gold on the front was applied with either some sort of paint or ink. Just looking at it you might think that it was a home-made replacement, but I just know I have seen exactly the same thing on another machine somewhere. I just can't remember on what or when. And the cloth appears to have been on my machine for a very long time

Clay

I expect to see valid grille cloth color(s) emerge in my research, I've begun noting the color of it in my database, but without closely examining the material myself, it would be wrong for me to make assumptions. The most common colors I've seen are "Green" and "Gold" and I think there may be some validity to those two colors at this point. I've seen no particular indication of either of those two colors being specified by Edison uniquely for the 250 or 19 so far.

I have received information of at least one known original intact grille that is (Olive) Green and several others have reported "Green" remnants, but I'm not aware of any reports of "Gold" remnants, that is curious to me, given several machines I've seen had "Gold" grille cloths.

Fran

I have an A250 with a two cut dolphin key and a C19 with a two cut E key. Out of curiosity generated by this thread I just tried them and both keys work in the locks on both machines.

Clay

What I've found is that the Double Dolphin keys come in many different lengths. Some are over 3" and others are between 2" and 2 ⅜". My understanding was that the 2 ⅜" key is the correct one for the C250/C19. But based on in info on Old Crank (http://www.oldcrank.com/articles/keys/keys.html), the C250/C19 key is the one with only a single cut and not the double cut like the Edison "E" key. So many keys, so much confusion. And, with the price folks want for keys, I surely don't want to get the wrong one. In my mind, this key should work (looks the same as the Edison "E" key).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Antiqu ... 4ad5794018


Scott