The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Today I wandered into an antique store, and saw an Edison Gold Moulded cylinder case in a cabinet. I didn't think too much of it, until I had the pleasant surprise of opening it up and finding a brown wax cylinder inside.

So, I'm left with trying to find some information on this thing. There are no markings anywhere on the cylinder, and obviously the gold moulded case is incorrect for it.





The cylinder has a spiral groove inside, and there is (unfortunately) some mold damage. The mold appears light, but unfortunately, it plays worse than I thought it would. It appears to have been recorded at about 120rpm. I transferred it over, and you can hear that even the announcement is rather muffled. I played it at the standard 160rpm, and then digitally slowed the file. Obviously I didn't want to play this thing too many times.

Some parts of the song play clearly, other parts are fairly wiped out. Anybody recognize the tune, or have any information as to when this cylinder dates? I used to have a link to a brown wax identification guide online, but I don't have it anymore. It sounds like the name of the song is "The Bloom of the Grain" or something like that.

Here's a link to an MP3 of what I have:

http://www.box.net/shared/tothj7v84i

I haven't listened to it yet (don't want to wake anyone so I'll listen in the morning), but I'm wondering if it might be The Blue and the Gray.

John M

http://www.gracyk.com/century.shtml

Listed are ten songs that were genuinely popular from 1896 to 1905, one tune representing one year. Each started out as sheet music. Several caught on after being interpolated into Broadway shows or after being performed by vaudeville stars.

..5) "The Blue and the Grey" (1900), words and music by Paul Dresser. This tells of a mother who lost two sons in the Civil War (Appomattox and Chickamauga) and, four decades later, lost a third son in Cuba, "in a trench in Santiago," during the Spanish-American War. The song was published two years after President McKinley's war ended. The lyrics brought tears to many eyes a century ago. Did any mother actually lose sons in both wars?'
...

I finally got to listen to it . . . it is still 10 or 20 r's too fast.

John M

Thanks for all the info... these brown wax cylinders can be a mystery sometimes. I pretty much guessed as to the speed. Am I right in thinking this is an Edison cylinder? There are no markings anywhere on it.

Shane,

I listened closely to the cylinder, and the announcement is as follows: "The Blue and the Gray, sung by J. W. Myers for the Columbia Phonograph Company." Myers recorded prolifically for Columbia in those very early days.



Rocky

Rocky,
Wow. I have to say you have VERY good ears. The announcement is a mold-affected mess on this cylinder. Now that you pointed it out, I went back and listened, and I can hear it also. So it is a Columbia! Thank you!!