FOUND: Spun Aluminum Cylinder Phonograph Horn

[FellowCollector]

I'm looking for a spun aluminum cylinder phonograph horn to use on one of my Edison cylinder phonographs. The one I would like is about 16" long by about 12" in diameter at the bell. It would look similar to the one in the picture below. Please send a PM with price and picture if you have one to sell or trade. I'm looking for larger sound from a relatively small lightweight horn that does not require a crane and this type seems to provide that (versus the Columbia aluminum horns).

Thanks.
Doug

[Phonofreak]

Is this for an American Edison? I have seen these horns on the Edison Bell phonographs, Pathé, and other European cylinder machines.
Harvey Kravitz

[FellowCollector]

Hi Harvey, You're absolutely correct that these aluminum horns are found primarily with European phonographs but I've seen them in use on domestic (USA) cylinder phonographs as well.

I'm looking for an original or reproduction horn. There's a person selling what appear to be nice reproductions of the same spun aluminum horn that I'm seeking but they're in Netherlands. I'm hoping to find someone here in the States who has one to sell or trade to ease the shipping cost a bit and get it a little quicker.

As an aside, it's amazing to me that a manufacturer here in the States all those years ago could not see the audible benefit with this nicely designed spun horn versus the comparatively tiny horns that were available to USA customers.

Doug

[alang]

I purchased one of these horns in the Netherlands at "De Zwarte Schjif) for my Pathé 0 and was very impressed with the quality. The owner is very friendly and helpful. I had it shipped to a friend in Germany and picked it up at my next trip. but I think he ships to the US as well. http://zwarteschijf.nl/show-serie.php?serie=38

Andreas

[drh]

...As an aside, it's amazing to me that a manufacturer here in the States all those years ago could not see the audible benefit with this nicely designed spun horn versus the comparatively tiny horns that were available to USA customers.

Doug

I'm fairly sure it would have been a matter of $$$. Unless I'm much mistaken, at that time aluminum was a recently-discovered "miracle metal," difficult/expensive to manufacture and then to work into products. For one thing, its production requires massive amounts of electricity--there's a reason Alcoa set up its company town in East Tennessee, and that reason can be summed up in the words "cheap hydropower--and when cylinder machines were in vogue electricity wasn't quite the universal part of life that it is for us today, either.

[Phonofreak]

Back in the turn of the last century, Aluminum was the "Wonder Metal " of the age.When Columbia came out with their back and front mount machines, they touted Aluminum, as the latest and greatest. In my early 1900's Sears catalogs, Aluminum cookware, and serving sets were more expensive than Silverplate and cast iron. By the 1920's, Aluminum became cheap with the new manufacturing methods.
Harvey Kravitz

[HisMastersVoice]

Back in the turn of the last century, Aluminum was the "Wonder Metal " of the age.When Columbia came out with their back and front mount machines, they touted Aluminum, as the latest and greatest. In my early 1900's Sears catalogs, Aluminum cookware, and serving sets were more expensive than Silverplate and cast iron. By the 1920's, Aluminum became cheap with the new manufacturing methods.
Harvey Kravitz

Aluminum is great...I just can't remember why....

[PeterF]

I've managed to somehow accumulate quite a bunch of extra aluminum horns over the years, and the spun euro-style horns are quite robust and artful compared to the very flimsy Columbia ones. The repro ones with the rolled lip are downright tough in fact, although heavier. Columbia's strategy was obviously to reduce power requirements by reducing carriage drag.

The ALCOA siting to Tennessee for electric power availability does not make sense in the context of early 20th century horn production, since the Tennessee Valley Authority power plants didn't get built til the 1930's, as a project to finally bring power to that rural area and most importantly to support aluminum production as a strategic material for WWII.