The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My first posting here, and I'm a little unclear about the formatting, so please bear with me. What a lot of options... but anyway: After many years, I'm rekindling a lifelong love for phonographs -- disc machines, mainly. While I'm trying to prioritize getting the machines I've had for decades put into the best order, it's naturally impossible to avoid cruising the net to see what's out there. A "Climax" eternal horn machine is going up at a reputable local auction house. I'd never heard of it, and the only reference online I could find was an interesting person on YouTube who is not new to collecting, and seems very happy with her machine -- the thing sounds pretty good on her videos. The attached pictures are of her phonograph and the one at auction. While the horn appears to be from our little friends in India, the rest of the machine looks fairly credible; what I find really strange is that the arm and reproducer on both looks to be a solid casting, which isn't consistent with the usual run of Crap/Frankens. Also odd and questionable (to me, at least) is the single control for both start and speed. At first glance, I thought they looked vaguely Columbia-ish, but I dunno. Does anyone have any thoughts? [attachment=1]

That is a Columbia machine, made (If I recall) with Hawthorn & Sheble parts.

Estott is right. When Hawthorne & Sheble went out of business in 1909, Columbia obtained a variety of parts from the firm. The horn on the Climax is a typical H&S product, and the combination on/off/speed control was a H&S feature that Columbia quickly adapted to its own motor designs. There's nothing Franken/Crapo/Indian about this machine.

George P.

The Climax (and some other Columbia "client brands" can be confusing indeed, particularly machines built around the 1908-1910 period, for as part of the liquidated damages awarded to The American Graphophone Company for Columbia's suits against infringing independent manufacturers such as Hawthorn & Sheble and the Ohio Talk-O-Phone Company the firm was awarded large numbers of cabinets, motors, tone-arms and back brackets, and other parts in lieu of a cash settlement. Columbia then ran most of this material up into machines, using some off-the-shelf Columbia parts and occasionally some imported items from International Talking Machine. By the time that these cheap surplus parts were entirely worked off, Columbia was making extensive use of imported material (generally derived form Parlophone sources. particularly motors and horns, in their cheap range of machines. Columbia even imported complete machines for a short while until the disruptions of the Great War intervened.

Thanks for the great responses. I'm hoping to hoping to go to the auction or preview and have a closer look at the machine, as well as to see how it does. The level of knowledge here is impressive; it's an education and delight to wade through prior discussions here.

Good luck at the auction. Let's us know if you are the successful bidder. The machine looks to be in quite nice condition.

Clay

Not much to add, except that the horn on the second picture seems to have been repainted. That's probably why you thought it might be a modern reproduction.
Good luck
Andreas

The "Climax" brand was made to be used in high class Chicago brothels...