The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Congratulations George, and nice job on the restoration too. It looks great!
Good to see another short arm/short base model too. It's a shame they never put serial numbers on these, as it would make dating them a little easier, although I doubt combined, the 2 models would have been made for more than a few years. I cant image there was a huge demand for these 4 minute shavers, bar the occasional dealership who offered the service, and the diehard recording hobbyist who moved up to the 4 minute format, so I think the number of homes that actually had a 4M "home shaving machine" would have been quite low.
If ebay is anything to go by, 2M shavers, recorders & blanks certainly seem to out number their 4M equivelants by 50:1.

George, do you have any idea whether the long or short version came first, and how long the first version was around before the second version appeared.

Thanks Shane. I agree that by 1912, the home recording market - at least Edison's - must have been dwindling. I'm surprised there are as many of these shaving machines around as there seem to be.

My guess is that the short model came first, but that's only a guess based on what would seem to be improved leverage in the long model. As for how long they were manufactured, the August 1912 issue of The Edison Phonograph Monthly announced their availability, but I never found any announcement of their discontinuance. It beats me. I wouldn't think more than a year or two...

In any event, they're an oddball accessory and I'm pleased to finally have one. I only wish Santa had brought it!

George P.