1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Recordings

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long_island_phono
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1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Recordings

Post by long_island_phono »

Apparently an Edison Gem along with 4 minute blanks with recorded messages has been unearthed in a time capsule from 1913 in Oklahoma. The first link is for the yahoo page, the second an imgur link with detailed pictures. It seems the historical society did not assemble the Gem as they didn't want to damage the cylinders. I read that they will digitize them (using an unstated method) in the near future.

Anybody live in Oklahoma that can assist in playing back/recording these cylinders? Someone needs to let these people know that they have a rare chance to hear fresh cylinders played back on a practically new machine.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/10 ... .html?vp=1

Detailed Pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/RDjT5#9
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Retrograde
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by Retrograde »

They did as good job of packaging up and securing the items in the capsule. A few years ago a time capsule with a 1957 Chrysler was opened. The car had been sitting in water the whole time.

Here's the 2007 story...
1957 Time Capsule FAIL
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flashpanblue
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by flashpanblue »

What a fantastic time capsule!! I wish they had a picture of the Gem with the lid off. At least you get to see what the finish on Edison cabinets looked like when new. They were very glossy.
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FloridaClay
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by FloridaClay »

Fascinating. I already knew about the time capsule, but didn't know it contained that wonderful Gem. Hope there will be videos of it playing later. And really great that this time the capsule was protected from moisture, unlike so many.

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edisonphonoworks
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by edisonphonoworks »

Amazing!!!!! Cylinders do survive a long time, I bet the recordings are as fresh as they made them.
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VintageTechnologies
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by VintageTechnologies »

The Gem horn is red, so I wonder if it is a maroon Gem?
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Curt A
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by Curt A »

This is fantastic...
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antique1973
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Re: 1913 100-Year-Old Time Capsule Edison Gem and 4m Record

Post by antique1973 »

I saw the story on CNN but they did not show anything about the Gem. Very cool!
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