The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hey folks, hope you're all well today!

I recently acquired 2 Q's; my first foray into the fascinating world of Columbia Graphophones.

The first one is sn. 933155 and has this end support bracket and no mandrel "tag":
The second one, an earlier sn. 848700 has this style end support bracket and mandrel "tag":
It appears to me that, on 848700, some parts may have been used from the 1st. style Q after the change was implemented to the governor support and baseplate?

Do any of you folks know when the change between my 2 machines may have occurred, and did all of the mandrels on both iterations of the Q come with an identification tag?

Thanks,

Fran

I can't help with when the stamping changed on the support, but I'm certain that all examples of the 2nd style Q were originally supplied with mandrel tags.

I believe all 1st style Qs had mandrel tags as well, but it's possible that the very earliest ones did not, as seen on No.312018 (see http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... 3&start=10). More data is needed. Eagles were being supplied with mandrel tags by mid-1898, so I presume that the Q (introduced in early 1899) should have had them as well.

George P.

Thank you, George.

Here are a few photos of Columbia Type Q Graphophone # 311649. I acquired this machine some time ago and would like to restore it someday. With the recent discussion about this machine I decided to find the serial number. It turned out to be an early one so I thought it might be of interest to show some photos of it. About the only difference I see from the other early serial nos. is that this one has the mandrel tag.

Dan Z.

Neat, thanks!

The mandrel end itself is quite different than both of mine, too.

Fran

Dan,

Thanks for the photos of No.311649. A new "earliest known" example!

I'm also interested in seeing that the mandrel tag is present. I can stand by my presumption!

George P.

The plot thickens!

I wonder when the mandrels were changed? From style 1 to style 2?

Well, as the owner of the formally earliest known Q and seeing Dan's even earlier machine, perhaps we can assume that the Q production numbers started with serial number 300,000? Also, upon closer inspection of the end of the mandrel on my machine it appears there are remnants of glue for the mandrel tag, further verifying along with Dan's machine that they were sold with the tags early on.

-Jake

Hi I have the same Q as you with the Mandrel tag and the last date at 1901 my serial number is 869413 it has a fretwork winding key and wooden base and a lid.

The Q mandrel tags come off and get lost and are sometimes removed by less than scrupulous sellers because they know they can get maybe $50 for it.

Clay