The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I was just curious, what is the generally accepted classification of an antique phonograph here at the forum?

I personally go by the '100-year rule' when classifying an antique. That means any phonograph made during or before 1913 is an official antique (as of this current year). For example, my 1917 Amberola 50 will become an “antique” in 2017, until then it’s just old. There was also no such thing as an "antique phonograph" back in 1976 when the oldest one was only 99 years.

What’s your opinion?

Back when I was a customs officer guarding the border against the alien hords , all goods imported into Canada had duty and sales tax levied against them....the federal sales tax was exempted on all goods over 100 years of age....A few importers of gramophones were somewhat irked with me because I wouldn't allow the 100 year exemption on their Edison Standard..."But it's an antique!!"...not according to the Excise Tax Act!!!...now pay up

Player-Tone wrote:I was just curious, what is the generally accepted classification of on antique phonograph here at the forum?

I personally go by the '100-year rule' when classifying an antique. That means any phonograph made during or before 1913 is an official antique (as of this current year). For example, my 1917 Amberola 50 will become an “antique” in 2017, until then it’s just old. There was also no such thing as an "antique phonograph" back in 1976 when the oldest one was only 99 years.

What’s your opinion?

The 100 year rule seems like the consensus... But most people use this word for objects that have outlived their normal lifespan. For example, cars are considered "antique" once they reach 25 years.

I think the 100-year-rule generally makes sense for what most people regard as traditional antiques, such as furniture, glassware, dolls, guns, books, etc. Those things have changed relatively little over the centuries and were always recogisable as such. However, I don't believe that technological items from the 20th century that evolved so rapidly can fairly be catagorized by that same time frame. Would the general public recogise a mechanical scanning disk television? Few of the people that remodeled my house recognised Edison phonographs or Atwater Kent horn speakers for what they were. Absolutely no one recogises what a Brunsviga mechanical pinwheel calculator is. Those technical things and many others are less than a century old but were already forgotten at half their current age. "Antique" may be a loose, but realistic term for them.

Veteran is used for cars and gramophone stuff over here not antique , I've never heard anyone call a gramophone an antique although many are if you take 100 years they are always listed in Collectables ( ibles ) and later stuff is Vintage over here , 40s and 50s stuff sells at Vintage fairs

"Antique," like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. But as others have mentioned the most common rule-of-thumb seems to be 100 years.

Except on eBay, of course, where anything upon which the paint has dried is an antiques and, of yes, no matter what it is it will always be "rare" there.

Clay