The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just returned from a trip to Florida and had the fortune to pick up a dusty greasy Graphophone BC, the first Higham machine for me. My trip was rushed so when I picked it up I did not notice the fact it had 2/4 minute gearing and certainly didn't see the 2/4 minute switchable stylus assembly.

I have come across references to BCs having 2/4 minute gearing however I have never seen anything mentioned about the the styli. Considering I never thought I'd find a BC in the wild in the first place it never really crossed my mind how one would play both formats with the Higham reproducer, although I guess you could suppose that they were fitted with a single 4-minute stylus like the late Lyric Indestructible reproducers that could play both 2 and 4-minute celluloid cylinders.

I'll attach more photos later today but below are a few low quality ones I took last night to start. Since it is probably difficult to make out in the photos, the main stylus bar holds the 2-minute stylus in a perpendicular position, just like a Model B or Automatic stylus bar, and the 4 minute stylus bar is riveted alongside. There is a half inch long screw that screws into the main stylus bar that either can knock the back of the 4-minute stylus bar up or down, which puts it in or out of play respectively. The 4-minute stylus bar is currently out of play with the screw pushing the stylus bar down, towards the mandrel thus moving the stylus up towards the reproducer and out of the way.

This setup almost looks homebuilt, especially as I have owned a Columbia 2/4-minute Indestructible reproducer that had a stylus bar like an Automatic/ Model B. Since I have only ever come across photos of whole 2/4 minute BCs I have no clue what the stylus assembly should look like.


-Jake

It would have used the "universal" stylus that Columbia used on their combination machines. My 2/4 min BM had that stylus until I managed to knock it off the bar and lost it. I have since just installed a 2 min stylus for the time being.

The closeup you show almost looks like someone grafted a Edison 4 min stylus bar to the end of the original bar to play 4 minute records.

Chuck

I was initially thinking the same thing, Chuck, that this was a homebuilt styls assembly but upon further inspection (see photos) it's a very well done assembly and looks factory made. The 4-minute stylus bar is not Edison as the dimentions are wrong although the way the stulus is mounted is similar to an Edisom 4-minute stylus.

-Jake

A clever little arrangement! It seems, though, that it would have been rather inconvenient to use...
Bill