The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi folks,

How do you organize, store or display the non-machine items of your collection.

How do you keep track of it all?

In a relatively short period of time, I've amassed a semi-respectable quantity of various catalogues, circulars and manuals (both originals and reprints), books, images and pdf's, and I maintain a couple of Excel style spreadsheets for historical research (I'm not proficient with Excel, but I muddle my way through them with open source software programs successfully). I have physical items stuffed into drawers and cabinets, all over the dining room table and my two desks, on the workbench, with machines in their cabinets, under machines on their tables and chairs, and on several book shelves. I have hundreds of digital files on my workhorse PC and elderly laptop.

In short: ALL OVER THE PLACE.

I'd love to see ideas about the way that others have managed to bring peace to the chaos and I also think that new (and maybe even some older) collectors might benefit from seeing how other collectors organize their always expanding collection of documents.

Best,
Fran

I like stackable letter boxes for paper. Ikea sells larger boxes for big documents that area good size for large full page ads from larger magazines. For smaller pieces, receipts and books I also use turn of the century shelvable file boxes that look like large bound books.
All of these can fit on book shelves or over stored records.

Welcome to the world of collecting!

Years ago, I found an old green three-drawer filing cabinet in an antique/junk shop. Not one of the new, flimsy ones, but a built-like-a brick-outhouse job from the 40s or 50s. It was one of the best five bucks I ever spent. She's not pretty, so I put it in a closet (you've seen it, Fran!), but it does its job. My job, or course, is a slightly different story... It's full of folders (some properly marked, others not) that keep growing. Then there are "files" that haven't yet made it into the cabinet. For instance, there's a stack of U.S. Patents (all horn cranes/supports) on top of the file cabinet that are awaiting a proper folder. But they can't go in until I free up space in a drawer currently filled with photos...

So the moral is that a system is only as good as you make it!

In the file cabinet I have a file for "Reproduction Edison Documents" and into this go all the Edison catalogs, fliers, etc. that are copies. (Originals of anything go safely into drawers in a cylinder record cabinet that lost its pegs.) There's another file for "Reproduction Columbia" and another for "Reproduction Miscellaneous." Where's "Reproduction Victor?" Well, years ago I kept all the repro Victor/Berliner materials on the shelf of a book case, and that's where they remain. Why don't I just add a "Victor" file to the file cabinet...?

I keep my paper copies of The Talking Machine World in large manila envelopes in shopping bags. Now that the TMW is available online, I don't need these as much, but it's still fun to occasionally curl up in a comfortable chair with them - - after all, who wants to clean out that file drawer?

Paper copies of The Phonoscope are arranged on a bookshelf...

Paper copies of The Columbia Record are laying in a record packing crate...

My collection of many hundreds of original advertisements are in marked cloth binders that cover about 5 linear feet of space in the lower portion of an old wooden display/storage cabinet...

As you can see, there's little rhyme or reason to my "system," but I know where everything is...

My advice (which I didn't follow myself) is to devise a workable, sensible system; set it up, and stick to it!

Good luck - -

George P

I keep all my pictures at SmugMug. Its a really cool site but its not free.

George, your organizational skills always impress me!

The one thing that I have done is to write down a short bio of each machine on an index card and slip it into the cabinet under the bedplate, motorplate or motorboard. I include the manufacturer, model, year it was produced or shipped when known, when I acquired it, what I paid for it, who I bought it from, the condition of it, any improvements and costs I incurred, and any special features it has.

Fran