The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

One person is selling quite a few of these individually. If I owned a Berliner machine I would be interested in many of these titles.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=&S ... cat=176985

Wonderful indeed. One can only hope whoever the lucky winner of these will have the common sense to NOT play them on a Berliner machine and only electrically after so they'll last another 100+ years....

Sean

Good point, Sean.

So are there any records that one can play on an original Berliner without worrying about ruining them, and be reasonably period correct?

I have seen a video on youtube with a Berliner playing music that sounded like 1920's dance band music. It did seem odd to my ears and eyes.

Do collectors ever play their Berliner machines, or are they mostly trophies?

David

fourforty wrote: So are there any records that one can play on an original Berliner without worrying about ruining them, and be reasonably period correct?

I have seen a video on youtube with a Berliner playing music that sounded like 1920's dance band music. It did seem odd to my ears and eyes.

Do collectors ever play their Berliner machines, or are they mostly trophies?

David

I don't have a Berliner Gramophone, but I do have a couple early machines such as a Zonophone and a Columbia AJ. I have played a few Berliner and other early disks once to get some personal idea how such crude machines and media sounded together. You should look for a few marches on Little Wonder or Emerson disks - they are more common and will sound better and most guests that hear your machine won't know the difference.

Looks like ten of the thirteen items have met the minimum bid and will sell.

For reference, prices realized ranged from $66 to $885 each:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Records-/176985 ... ld=1&rt=nc

I got a few Berliners from Jerry Donnell a few years ago.One time I got a few 7 inchers at an antique shop in Shelburne,VT.One was "Whistling Rufus'on Berliner played as a violin solo.edisonplayer