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Does any one know if Columbia produced 12" odd spindle records such as Standard, Harmony, United, Busy Bee, or Aretino? I've been collecting for nearly 25 years and never saw one. I wonder if they exist?
Harvey Kravitz

I'm pretty sure they didn't. In all the 30 plus a couple years I've been at this, I've never seen any either.

Sean

Interestingly, I've never seen a 12 inch 78 drilled out to fit those odd-sized spindle machines, although 10 inch discs turn up fairly often. Were those presumably cheap machines equipped with springs strong enough to make it through a 12 inch side on a winding?--Mark

No. They don't exist.

Oddly enough I stumbled upon a group of unpicked 78s today and found several Aretinos including a 12" Aretino. Jerry Blais

Jerry B. wrote:Oddly enough I stumbled upon a group of unpicked 78s today and found several Aretinos including a 12" Aretino. Jerry Blais

Interesting find. Isn't it funny how sometimes we profess a fact when in fact the fact is not a fact. I've done it too.

Here are two photos of the 12" in comparison to a 10" Aretino record. Jerry Blais

Very cool! That's certainly an oddity in more than one way. I've pawed through tens of thousands of 78s in my years and I've never seen an odd spindle hole disc in 12 inch, unless it was something an owner did to a Victor or other disc.

Sean

The label reads "Overture to Poet and Peasant - A1214" and the record content matches the label. Jerry

The whole Aretino concept was so quirky (they even used a mechanical feed for a while) that it does not surprise me that they'd try 12 inch discs. They even manufactured an adapter to play their discs on regular machines - with a slot to accommodate the Busy Bee turntable slug.