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I have a Edison home model A I want to restore... It has S/N H126601 on the ID plate only... The case needs stripped and restrained with the bedplate being iffy. but the metal bed plate would look better repainted and restriped. Question.... Can I put a Red Banner on the refinished case or should I stick with the brown banner??? Thanks for the help and expertise

With a serial number that late (1905), your Home would definitely have the later banner. The red banner was only used on the early Model A in 1901.

If there are any remnants of the decal on the case, you should be able to notice the difference: the red banner is significantly larger than the later banner.

Bill

Hi tomb.

The transition from the red banner to the black-lettered banner seems to have happened in the 52600s. That said, I've noted 2 examples of red banners in the 70000s. I'm sure there were other scattered red banners in that range as they used up existing stocks. Certainly, by 126601 the banners would all have been of the black letter type.

Good luck on the restoration!

Regards,
Martin

Red Banner decal long cased homes were made with serial numbers of roughly 40,000 to 50,000. Then the long cased homes were decorated with a gold and black decal. Any serial numbers that are higher and found in a red banner decal case are mismatched.

I'm glad you are asking for opinions and are steered towards the historically correct banner decal. If you read threads dealing with decals you'll see Gregg Cline's name mentioned for making and selling the best decals. It's well worth the effort to get one of his decals. There really IS a difference. Years ago when I started collecting, you could spot a new banner decal from across the room. This is no exaggeration. Gregg's decals are so accurate that you must take a loop to try to determine if it's old or new. Jerry Blais

Years ago when I started collecting, you could spot a new banner decal from across the room. This is no exaggeration. Gregg's decals are so accurate that you must take a loop to try to determine if it's old or new. Jerry Blais (Quote)

I have been collecting for over forty years and have not come across a better decal.
If you apply them correctly and feather out the edges is is extemely difficult to differentiate between an original and a Greg Cline copy.

(Worrying for future collectors?)

Alistair

Thanks for the help. I found a 52000 home A plate and turned it into a red banner. It has the s/n stamped into the knife edge the carriage runs on. I refinished the case. The whole thing is sweet. The other one is in a brown banner case now I am working on a third home A . I am a glutton for punishment.

tomb wrote:I have a Edison home model A I want to restore... It has S/N H126601 on the ID plate only... The case needs stripped and restrained with the bedplate being iffy. but the metal bed plate would look better repainted and restriped. Question.... Can I put a Red Banner on the refinished case or should I stick with the brown banner??? Thanks for the help and expertise

I know you are new at the hobby, but you should leave them as they are. Restoring them is something we all do, but don't change the machine. Its been together for over a 100 years and you just changed it? 50 years from now, no one will know what it is. I would put a mark on it identifying what it was in the beginning. If you want a red banner Home, look for one. I just went through this and they can be hard to find. Here's the difference in the 2 machines.

Jerry B. wrote:I'm glad you are asking for opinions and are steered towards the historically correct banner decal. If you read threads dealing with decals you'll see Gregg Cline's name mentioned for making and selling the best decals. It's well worth the effort to get one of his decals. There really IS a difference. Years ago when I started collecting, you could spot a new banner decal from across the room. This is no exaggeration. Gregg's decals are so accurate that you must take a loop to try to determine if it's old or new. Jerry Blais

Actually, if they are applied PROPERLY, and the layer of plastic is fully dissolved even a loupe won't really help!

Actually, if they are applied PROPERLY, and the layer of plastic is fully dissolved even a loupe won't really help!

It's either that or your eyes (and mine ) are not what they used to be!

Jerry Blais