The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Has anyone else noticed there seems to be an awful lot of "original" phonograph literature like this example recently showing up on eBAY in excellent condition? I'm not necessarily challenging the authenticity of this particular piece but there's almost no way to tell from a picture. Also, I know that there are nice reproductions available of the same pieces because I have a bunch of the repros...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Edison ... 5af5fc6947

I've noticed it too, Bruce. That catalog was reproduced about 40 years ago, and there have been a lot of them around. Without a dealer imprint, I'd be highly suspicious. I'm afraid some unknowing collectors are being taken to the cleaners.

George P.

Bruce, I got one of those on eBay for 36 dollars. I assure you it wasn't original. It was a beautiful reproduction, though! When asked, the seller said it came from his fathers estate and thathe thought it was original, and he offered to take it back. Wasn't worth the effort so i kept it. Al Sefl noted on a different forum that an original sold for 12 dollars while the reproduction sold for 3 times as much!....

Anil

Anil, I thought so. I've seen several nice pieces advertised as original, all of which I have very nice reproductions of that look original. It seems plausible that some sellers really don't know in some cases. Others could just be choosing not to know. Most of mine say "reprinted by xxx" usually on one of the back pages of the document. Did yours say that or was there any indication that a page noting it was reprinted had been removed?

Anyway, many of these repros are very good quality and I suppose $20 or $30 is not an outrageous price to pay. I paid half that for some of them but that was 20 + years ago.

I have heard the images from the reproduction catalogs have halftone moiere patterns in them while the originals do not... it this a way to tell the difference? I know halftone printing goes back to the later 1800's.

I have the reprint of this catalog, and have to say it was really nicely done. The photos look good without any moiré patterns. Unfortunately, I don't have a original of this particular catalog to compare it to, but other original catalogs that I have seem to have sharper text and more uniform color. I think on casual inspection, most people would think this reprint was an original if they didn't know better.