The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I bought a brown wax cylinder off eBay for $15.00 and I received it in the mail today. The cylinder record box was labeled the "Darkeys Dream" (should be spelled darkies) which is a title that I've been looking if but the cylinder turned out to be a 1904 columbia moulded brown wax cylinder. It is "Squashtown Amateur Minstrels" by Len Spencer. Still now I have a brown wax cylinder. And yes, I know not to play it with any reproducer made after 1901 such as a Model C. I have a columbia type AT graphophone that I played it on. (For those if you that don't know, I'm 13 years old)

Good for you Kid!

Keep it up! You're going places!

)

Tony K.

Edison collector/Restorer

I noticed that your brown wax Columbia has the title on the end.It's a molded brown wax.Columbia's first molded cylinders used the brown wax.My copy of "Tell Me Pretty Maiden"is a molded brown.edisonplayer

edisonplayer wrote:I noticed that your brown wax Columbia has the title on the end.It's a molded brown wax.Columbia's first molded cylinders used the brown wax.My copy of "Tell Me Pretty Maiden"is a molded brown.edisonplayer

Yes I know it's a moulded brown wax. In my post I said it was a Columbia moulded brown wax cylinder and they were made until 1904. The speed is 120rpm.

Looks like a nice clean cylinder should play well. Your are correct in that it is from March, 1904. Here are a few pics showing that.

Rich Gordon

I just realized that I should have put this under music and not machines. Sorry

When these moulded brown waxes are in good condition, as yours appears, they seem to have less surface noise than the black wax versions,These usually are super loud records to find. Good Job!

15 bucks for a clean commercial brown wax cylinder is a pretty good deal nowdays, huh?

I don't buy cylinders at auction, so I don't really know.

edisonphonoworks wrote:When these moulded brown waxes are in good condition, as yours appears, they seem to have less surface noise than the black wax versions,These usually are super loud records to find. Good Job!

Are moulded Columbia brown wax records hard to find?

They do seem difficult today to find in good shape. Columbia did not use the same brand of ingredients that Edison used, and formulation, although not that much different to the laymen in components than Edison records, the same in fact except for 1 ingredient,Columbia cylinders have differences in the process of them being made, that makes them more hygroscopic than Edison records, so they tend to have become moldy. Also Columbia records were not as revered as Edison's especially in the dark ages of the 1940s-1960s, when these were considered old junk. Because it did not have the Edison name on it, someone would not be as inclined to keep them, as ones with the original inventors, name and likeness. I will say one thing about Columbia moulded records, they are very loud recordings, sometimes not as distinct in sound, as I think Columbia seemed to want more low end in there molded cylinders, and sometimes they tend to echo, which happens when you adjust the professional recording heads into the records too deep. I find that a shallower groove (but not too shallow, as to not be commercial) records more high frequency detail, while a deep groove gives a loud, but more "warm" bassy sound.