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eBay Item #172373143869 I realize this has got to be really rare but if you just look at these 4 min cylinders the wrong way. they crumble. I'd be scared to death to even touch it, let alone play it.

I hope the buyer get it in one piece
Harvey Kravitz

Phonofreak wrote:I hope the buyer get it in one piece
Harvey Kravitz

Me Too.

$1,875 and shipped from Australia? Good luck on that... It must have been an Asian buyer, because no matter how rare it is, who would pay that for a wax Amberol? Even if that record was shipped wrapped in bubble wrap, inside a box full of styro peanuts, then double boxed in a large box full of packing, the temperature changes that it would go through on an airplane while flying or sitting on the ground, or finally delivered to a home with a temp variation could shatter it even if the package was handled carefully...

AND, if it does arrive in one piece, playing it is risky, as well...

I would put a splat of nail varnish inside too, to make sure if the record did break, it was mine and not one they already had the was damaged to begin with. I got into it with a guy and a cylinder a few years back. And when I brought to his attention after he sent me back a different record with the same title, he of course remembered that he bought two records with that same title that week and mixed me up with another sell. HA! I blocked him from bidding in the future. Good grief those 4 minute wax records break easily and it's a wonder any of them survived. Edison must have sold them by the millions considering how many of them are still around.

With all respect, I'd like to offer a slightly different opinion for the benefit of those who have not yet owned wax Amberol records.

Are they brittle and fragile? Yes.

Are they time bombs just waiting to self-destruct for no apparent reason? That has not been my experience. I've owned some wax Amberols for nearly 50 years, and they have survived 4 moves between different houses, the seasonal changes of western New York State, and even an occasional playing!

As I've written elsewhere on this Forum, I take the following common sense precautions:

1) I keep wax Amberols in the same room where the machines that play them are located.

2) I avoid any sudden changes in temperature when I play them. In the winter I will not play these records unless the record temperature and air temperature are equal or nearly so.

3) I don't hold these records in my hands for any longer than necessary to transfer them from the box to the mandrel and back again. In the summer months, this is not really a potential problem, but it can be in the winter.

I haven't had a wax Amberol break since I've been mindful about sudden changes in temperature. The temperature in my display area gravitates between about 55 degrees in the dead of winter when it's below zero outdoors, and about 75 degrees in summer when it's in the high nineties outdoors. I've had no wax Amberol breakage for about 20 years. The key is to avoid sudden changes of temperature.

What do you suppose would happen if I remove a wax Amberol from its box in mid-winter, and hold it in the palm of my hand for 10 seconds? It could likely break. Yet, this hasn't happened to me for at least a couple of decades. That's because the records and the machines are in the same room (and are the same temperature), and I hold the Amberols properly (two fingers spread inside the core), and the hand-to-record contact is only about 3-4 seconds. It's not brain surgery.

I've seen ham-fisted collectors who hold cylinders in the palms of their hands, and rattle and slam the records as though they're made of steel. That may work alright for Blue Amberols, but wax Amberols require a bit of finesse.

The reward is some great music that is unavailable on other cylinder formats, and sounds very good as well (provided the stylus and record are in good condition, of course).

My upcoming article in the December issue of The Antique Phonograph describes how I became aware of a collecting prejudice I had carried since the 1960s. It strikes me that dismissing wax Amberols out of hand smacks of the same sort of prejudice, and such closed-mindedness can diminish our enjoyment of the hobby. I encourage collectors (well, careful collectors!) to give wax Amberols a try if you haven't already done so.

Best to all,
George P.

phonogfp wrote: I avoid any sudden changes in temperature when I play them.

I wish I'd known this when I was given an Edison Standard and about fifty cylinders that had been in a barn for about forty years. They were filthy, so I ran a bath of nice hot soapy water, filled a wire tray up with about thirty of the cylinders, and gently lowered it into the bathtub. The resultant minor explosions were a surprise to say the least. In my defence, I was only ten years old!

I just wonder if it has to do with where they are stored over the years. I have had bad luck with Wax Amberols. I am sure that it does have to do with keeping the machine and cylinders in the same room, but it seems there is more to it than that. I will say they ARE fine sounding cylinders. I do notice a few of the wax Amberols that were in New York, and stayed in New York, did NOT crack, with normal playing,and keeping them in the same room as the machine. However I have poor luck in Illinois. I have had Wax Amberols in my record cabinet, that I put there intact, only to open the box (even before touching them) that were shattered. I keep the area 60-80 degrees all year.

I have a few black amberols and do buy them when I find one that is interesting and fits in my budget. I wouldn't however spend that amount of money on any black amberol cylinder no matter the content. I know there are serious record collectors that "invest" in records and never play them but I look on my collection as an enjoyable hobby and I want to be able to play my records without fear of "breaking the bank" so to speak.

I've had several hundred black wax Amberols since about 1978. They've mostly been in storage through the years that I've owned them. Some 15 years ago I moved from Southern California to the Oregon Coast. I didn't even look at those records until a couple of years ago. At that time, I performed an inventory. All of them, except one, went through that inventory undamaged. The one that broke, was destroyed due to my carelessness. As I turned it, with two fingers in the hole, I felt it slip, and I probably reacted too suddenly. As I went to recover my grip, it cracked. The weather does not get very cold, nor hot, here. It swings from a low of about 45 to a high of about 85. The humidity is more of a danger to wax records (they don't call this the Precipic North Wet for nothing!).