The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Who am I? Who am I? Jean Valjean.

pughphonos wrote: 1) The Collectors: "Collect to Own"
They collect for the thrill of comprehensive ownership and/or investment; they treasure early and unadulterated phonographs.

2) The Mechanics/Restorers: "Collect to Repair"
Those who collect to repair/restore; they like mechanical and woodworking challenges.

3) The Culturalists: "Collect to Play"
They collect phonographs as windows to the past; they play their machines more than the rest and also collect records for use; they like the later models as they sound better and are more versatile.

Humm. I can see myself in all 3 to some extent. Probably the deepest satisfaction is coming across a sad sack phonograph and giving it new life. I do treasure machines that have all original parts (when I can afford them) and there is a pleasure in ownership--they become treasured friends. And part of the reasons they become friends is that "window into the past" element. I appreciate the craftsmanship of those who made them and try to imagine the people who have been entertained by them over the years and the places they may have been. I do not particularly look at them as investment, though. I have more in several phonographs than I am every likely to get out of them. And I do enjoy early music and play most of my machines, although the ones that sound the best more than others.

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:Humm. I can see myself in all 3 to some extent. Probably the deepest satisfaction is coming across a sad sack phonograph and giving it new life. I do treasure machines that have all original parts (when I can afford them) and there is a pleasure in ownership--they become treasured friends. And part of the reasons they become friends is that "window into the past" element. I appreciate the craftsmanship of those who made them and try to imagine the people who have been entertained by them over the years and the places they may have been. I do not particularly look at them as investment, though. I have more in several phonographs than I am every likely to get out of them. And I do enjoy early music and play most of my machines, although the ones that sound the best more than others.

Clay

Very well put, Clay. As others have demonstrated above, it is indeed possible to be a "holistic phonograph person" who balances all those elements--and you're another one of them. Others seem to be more focused on one of the particular areas, for whatever reasons.

I was first attracted to the beauty of my Sonora, but after hearing the machine play hot jazz, I fell right into the "Collect to Play" category. Can't get enough of those fine old records.

I am a culturalist for sure. I have been collecting records since my late teens, just not old records. Music, art, and great literature were my passions. To me, a phonograph is meant to be played, and I am a collector at heart. My collection includes vast amounts of LPs, 78s, Diamond Discs, and cylinders. They can start to take up more room than the machines! Cataloging and filing can also be a logistical problem. I am right now putting my Edison DD's in serial number order with a special section for the 50K popular, 80K semi-classical, and 82K and 83K classical. It's making finding a particular record so easy when I use an Edison DD catalog to give the serial number of a song. But, again, to me the reason I never get tired of the phonograph is the endless amount of entertainment I can get from it. Whereas, old clocks are also nice. They tick, you wind them, they gong the hour, but that's about it. But phonographs have a soul like no other device I've seen.

I'm #2 but that's because I don't have the dough to get #1 category stuff...

I'm really interested in the technological part of phonographs and I enjoy restoring/repairing phonographs but if I had the dough I'd only get pristine examples that need nothing else but a good clean and fresh grease.

what's for sure is that I don't buy phonographs for the audio quality; I appreciate the "once upon a time" state of the art technology and so play them once in a while but that's it.

I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam...

Bill

I'm definitely the Culturalists type collector!

Collector---especially of the Emerson brand. Phonographs, parts, literature, 6",7",9",10",and 12" Emerson records, as well as other Emerson ventures, like--- Talking Book, Mother Goose, Kiddie Rekords, Talk o Photo, etc. Always looking to add to the "museum"

Who am I? Where am I going, and why am I in this giant hand basket?

I'm afraid you can't pigeonhole me into a single category - I am a blend, an overlapping of all three categories, although the proportions have changed over the years. Currently, I would say I'm 25% Collector, 25% Mechanic and 50% Culturalist.

As a teenager I was first attracted to cylinder phonographs and later to disk phonographs, that is to say, the hardware. I have always preferred buying a nice original working machine, if I could find and afford one. Repairs became a necessity to fix or maintain them in playing condition. At a minimum, my machines must play! I prefer original cosmetics until the condition falls below average and is unsightly. The "gray zone" between deciding to leave alone or restore to some extent can be wide and depend on a number of factors. For example, I would be more hesitant to refinish a rough Idelia than I would a rough Standard.

As my collection of records grew, I came to appreciate the period music more and more, until the "software" became even more important than the hardware. I don't listen to records on phonographs every single day, but pretty often. However, I listen to hundreds of old recordings on my car's stereo while commuting to work, to the exclusion of most modern music except for some 1970's Progressive Rock. Classical music is the only other exception. I suppose my playlists would seem a bizarre mix! Besides the music itself, I have always been interested in the historical development of the phonographs and American musical culture. From the age of 13, I cut my teeth on "Tinfoil to Stereo" and many other books.