The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I was able to purchase a number of machines yesterday. It was a long drive but worth it. I brought home two Edison Standards with cranes and horns, two Edison Homes with cranes and horns, an Edison Gem with a petaled horn, a Columbia AT, a later Victor I with a petaled horn, and this nice little Columbia QB. I have only seen these in a book. The case is very nice considering its age. It only needs a good cleaning and a belt.

Very interesting and infrequently seen. I wonder what the survival percentage is on that cheap carton. Jerry

That's a nice QB and should clean up well. There are not many of these around. The Q sits in the box by gravity, and any careless handling will result in damage.

I bought mine on eBay, and upon being informed that I had won it, I sent packing instructions to the seller. He wasn't happy because he had already packed the QB - - with the machine sitting loose inside the box!

Fortunately, he was persuaded to repack the machine and box separately.

Good luck with yours!

George P.

Great find! These are not easy to find, and are rarely seen in even passably good condition. You were lucky.

I had the same experience as George, except that my eBay seller went ahead and shipped it after ignoring my instructions. It had been near-mint. Needless to say, upon arrival there were holes punched through the cardboard from the machine bouncing around freely.

I did get him to refund a sizeable amount of the cost but it still didn't make up for ruining what had been close to perfect. However I spent hours, with a loupe and tweezers, painstakingly interlacing shredded torn edges of cardboard and inserting glue with the tip of a toothpick as I went along. I slowly rebuilt the layers of the cardboard, one at a time. The damage is still there but it's much less noticeable, fortunately.

The inner lining had been 100% intact, now there are some scuffs but I had to leave those.

Here's one just sold on E Bay by Firebottles $ 436.00 looks pretty good !

Thanks for the comments. I noticed that George's QB doesn't have a base frame around the machine. There is a recess in the whole base for the machine. Mine is like the other two in the post with a separate frame around the machine. I wonder how long this model was in production. I am planning on cleaning up the nickel plating. I'll post some pictures of how it turns out.

The QB was simply a conventional first-series Q with a pasteboard "hand case." (The box was also available separately for $1.00 so any Q could be made into a QB.) The earliest documentation I've seen on the QB is in the July 15, 1901 Columbia catalog. It persisted through 1901 and into 1902, but by late 1902/early 1903 the catalog no longer carried it. This would suggest availability for roughly 18 months.

The framed vs. recessed versions is interesting. I suspect the recessed version put the key too close to the wooden base and the framed version was therefore an improvement. I can take a measurement (bottom of key to wooden base) if either of the owners of a framed version will do the same!

George P.

George, The distance from the bottom of the key to the base board on mine is only about 5/16". The serial number is 373226. There is also a U stamped on the back edge of the bedplate. Any idea what that indicates? So far it is cleaning up nicely. I need to get a new belt on it and replace the governor springs. Also, one of the governor springs is missing.
Thanks for your input on this Columbia.

...And we have a WINNER!
The original rubber feet on this Q are pretty flattened, but even when new there couldn't have been much clearance. I think it's obvious that the framed (and slightly elevated) version was an improvement.

Your Q is cleaning up very nicely!

George P.

I still wonder what the U stamping indicates. Possibly an inspector marking? or an employee ID marking?
Is your serial number earlier or later George? I would think that your base is more stable and a later improvement from the flimsier framed base.