The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just got 2 batches of mostly Indestructibles; one batch had been wrapped in paper & stored in boxes (no old cartons) and is mildly aromatic & in nice condition. The second batch is in hardly-played shape, all in cotton-lined wax-type cartons and powerfully smells of camphor. I have 8 sitting about 6 feet away, in closed cartons, but I can smell them like there's an open jar of Vicks near my nose.

I expect to find that most of these haven't shrunk, because the camphor never evaporated as it has done with most of my other celluloid cylinders. What I am wondering is: could the stinkier ones have been stored in airtight bins along with a camphor source? It's gone right through the cotton flock and heavy cardboard of the cylinder cartons, so strong that I don't believe there was enough camphor IN each record to do so. I guess my real question is: Would providing an atmospheric source of camphor actually prevent celluloid shrinkage?

ps - Ernie Hair (my huge black cat) is snuggled right up against the group of 8 - apparently kitties like that smell!

Do you plan to sell any of them?

Edisone wrote:What I am wondering is: could the stinkier ones have been stored in airtight bins along with a camphor source? It's gone right through the cotton flock and heavy cardboard of the cylinder cartons, so strong that I don't believe there was enough camphor IN each record to do so. I guess my real question is: Would providing an atmospheric source of camphor actually prevent celluloid shrinkage?

ps - Ernie Hair (my huge black cat) is snuggled right up against the group of 8 - apparently kitties like that smell!

Mothballs were made with Camphor and it is posible that when they were placed into storage mothballs were added. Re-infusing to slow or prevent shrinkage sounds like it is a health hazard waiting to happen.

James

I've decided that the cotton lining of the older wax-type cartons "soaked up" the camphor & kept the celluloid in brilliant, shiny, and actually squeaky-clean condition; lids on every carton helped . However, most have still shrunk enough to cause a 1 or 2 groove skip. A few, without skips, still have the celluloid "lip" over the thin end; these have almost always broken off, showing that the plastic has shrunk lengthwise. This particular batch came from a very humid climate; maybe that has something to do with the good shape of the celluloid. Apparently camphor fumes, when enclosed with iron or steel, create a coating which prevents rust - that would explain the perfect condition of the inner metal rings even in the humidity.

Looking through my collection, I found most Indestructible, Everlasting, and Blue Amberol cylinders were either bare or kept in thin cardboard tubes; very few were stored for long periods in older cotton-lined cartons. This makes sense, because one would naturally want to keep the original wax records in them.