The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A few months ago I picked up the attached booklet and found that the Standard listed appeared to be the "infamous" Model G, as outlined in the Frow text. There, in the left bottom corner of the right page, is what I assume is the publishing or intended issue date, 4-1-13, half a year after the supposed introduction of the G, again as desribed in Frow's book.

The description for the Standard lists it as having a sapphire point reproducer-what would be an N, I suppose- and that it plays all Amberol records, indicating no playback for 2-minute cylinders. It should be noted that the drawing of the Standard shows it with a Diamond B...

I wonder where Frow sourced his information on the Standard G?

"indicating no playback for 2-minute cylinders"

I have never sought out a "G" to study the minute [pun intended] details. Perhaps it really was geared for 4-minute only, but the picture shows on the side of the gear cover what appears to be a knob for switching the gears, just as the previous models had.

BTW, the last "Home" model "F" was designed to be 4-minute only, but I discovered it was an easy matter to drill one hole inside the clutch and add a metal pin to restore 2/4 minute functionality exactly like the previous models. May the purists forgive me , but it was a practical decision!

Based on your pic....I can't see where the "G" designation is mentioned. Maybe you can add that if printed elsewhere on this booklet. IMHO, it does not appear to be a "G" shown.

What I find interesting is the extreme backward tilt of the horn on the Triumph. It looks like it has the wrong crane. There have been discussions her in the past related to horns hanging this way and it was always suggested that the crane was the the problem; now I'm not so sure.
Dave Jolley

VintageTechnologies wrote:"indicating no playback for 2-minute cylinders"

I have never sought out a "G" to study the minute [pun intended] details. Perhaps it really was geared for 4-minute only, but the picture shows on the side of the gear cover what appears to be a knob for switching the gears, just as the previous models had.

That's the danger of trusting period printed sales material. You see the same thing with antique car ads. The advertising people who retouched photos for use in brochures were not necessarily versed in the intricacies of each model and sometimes used photos that weren't exactly accurate.

Hi long_island_phono.

Coincidentally, I've been working on a revision for my Edison Standard article on the APS website. The main reason was to put in more info on the Standard G. I've now run across two printed references of the Standard G from the Edison company. One was an advertisement for mainspring in the Edison Amberola Monthly in 1920 and the other was a listing of parts for the G in a 1913 parts guide that I spotted on ebay. It is plain that Edison certainly sold machines as the "Model G". But I have yet to see one labelled as such. I have been told that they are indeed out there but in very, very small quantities.

It is likely that many of them were simply unsold and upgraded Model E machines that were never re-badged. The picture in your catalogue is probably accurate in that the Model E had the push/pull knob. The knob didn't do anything because the gear on the other side was different.

Since the company's focus had shifted away from outside horn machines (and also cylinders in general) I can see that, at the end of production, there was little motivation to worry about details like whether the model type was correct. Looking at machine configurations, my data sheet may in fact have a few of these "Model G" machines. However, without documentation of how they were sold, they can only be listed as "Model E". I have been given serial numbers of supposed Model G branded machines, but have not been able to get visual verification. If they are indeed out there, I suppose they must eventually surface - but hopefully not on ebay sold off piece-by-piece.

Regards,
Martin

JerryVan wrote: That's the danger of trusting period printed sales material. You see the same thing with antique car ads. The advertising people who retouched photos for use in brochures were not necessarily versed in the intricacies of each model and sometimes used photos that weren't exactly accurate.

Amen. I'm a huge believer in primary resources, but it's important not to disengage the brain cells. Here's a good example: Edison Form No.1865, issued October 1910: A Catalogue of EDISON Phonographs, Records, Reproducers, Attachments and Accessories.

Here are the spreads for the Home and the Standard. Does anything seem odd?

George P.

two Standards??

blizz

fmblizz wrote:two Standards??

blizz

I think it's more of a double Standard... .

Looks like the Standard on the bottom is a model D and the one above is a model C (I think?)

Sean