Edison LU-37 Unusual Mahogany?

[CDBPDX]

Just brought home a decent Edison LU-37 London Upright diamond disc phonograph. Frow says these were all mahogany. This one has some mahogany I haven't seen before with walnut-like swirls. Is this unusual?

[estott]

Looks like Birch to me, often used in cheap cabinets because it takes a mahogany finish well.

[CDBPDX]

Here are a couple more detailed pictures of the unusual wood. Is it possible this is the foundation of the cabinet with the mahogany veneer missing?? There are also trim pieces using this wood.

[CDBPDX]

I just brought this LU-37 home today and this is the original Edison packing slip for it. It says the finish is Mahogany, English Brown.

It is serial number 3397, pretty early in the production of this model. So early that the packing slip doesn't yet have a check box for LU-37 so it had to be written in by hand. Cool!

Kind of hard to decipher the date.

Came with some great Diamond Discs, too.

Cliff

[fran604g]

I just brought this LU-37 home today and this is the original Edison packing slip for it. It says the finish is Mahogany, English Brown.

It is serial number 3397, pretty early in the production of this model. So early that the packing slip doesn't yet have a check box for LU-37 so it had to be written in by hand. Cool!

Kind of hard to decipher the date.

Came with some great Diamond Discs, too.

Cliff

Now that's cool, Cliff!

-Fran

[Jwb88]

Fantastic to get this nice machine with its packing slip!

I'm still very much in love with my humble London Upright. Mostly I like the cabinet. It's cheaply made--too cheaply--but it has a great style to it. I see an attitude present that suggests it's in on it's own joke; almost flaunting it's cutesy modesty (probably not the original designer's intention, but that's how I see it). I wish Edison had done some more cabinets like this, hinting at Art Deco, with the more expensive models. I've always been interested in the cabinet finishes in the 1920s. Mine is serial number 10xxx ish, which I still consider early just because they pumped something like 11,000 out right at the start of the model run during the end of 1922. I think it's a reasonable comparison.

I think the wood pieces that you note look a little like walnut are definitely birch. I made a few LP bins out of birch plywood years ago and stained them dark. The effect was the same. I admit, yours is the lightest I've ever seen. The finish on my LU was in bad shape when I got it, but really, it seemed much more worn on the birch areas than the mahogany panels. Also, I think. my finish may be different. We can almost be certain yours is English Brown. IF the options of mahogany were the real options available for the LU-37 (hey, the model isn't even listed on your card, so we can't be sure the correct finishes for them are listed) my phono might be a different finish. It is much darker, with a silvery wash underneath a yellow-brown finish. I speculate that maybe this could be "Antique Mahogany?" I further speculate that when it says, "semi-gloss mahogany," it might mean a finish with a reddish tone, more naturally associated with mahogany. I've seen some LU-37s that indeed look more red than either of ours. I can be sure that there is no red tint to mine at all. I've attached some photos. Note that most were taken with a flash, which makes the wood look awful in the worn areas (the worst area was the crank side) but it shows the grain and color. They're similar, but different. Maybe they DID start out the same and just aged differently? Maybe your earlier one has a shellac finish, and mine the "wax" finish that is often mentioned?

Then again, Frow states that the LU-37 was only available in "brown mahogany, or Edison brown." Hmm, the names are so similar. I find it odd to offer two "browns" with zero descriptions of the finish in either name. Also, how can we be sure those two options were for the entire model run? Especially the early years.

I therefore conclude that it takes three licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop and I wave my hands of the matter until someone jumps in with more evidence.

[fran604g]

A page from a catalog ca.1923(ish). The finish was referred to as "Mahogany Finish (Brown)". You don't get much more polysemous than that.

Best,
Fran

[CDBPDX]

...I think the wood pieces that you note look a little like walnut are definitely birch. I made a few LP bins out of birch plywood years ago and stained them dark. The effect was the same. I admit, yours is the lightest I've ever seen. The finish on my LU was in bad shape when I got it, but really, it seemed much more worn on the birch areas than the mahogany panels. Also, I think. my finish may be different. We can almost be certain yours is English Brown. IF the options of mahogany were the real options available for the LU-37 (hey, the model isn't even listed on your card, so we can't be sure the correct finishes for them are listed) my phono might be a different finish. It is much darker, with a silvery wash underneath a yellow-brown finish. I speculate that maybe this could be "Antique Mahogany?" I further speculate that when it says, "semi-gloss mahogany," it might mean a finish with a reddish tone, more naturally associated with mahogany. I've seen some LU-37s that indeed look more red than either of ours. I can be sure that there is no red tint to mine at all. I've attached some photos. Note that most were taken with a flash, which makes the wood look awful in the worn areas (the worst area was the crank side) but it shows the grain and color. They're similar, but different. Maybe they DID start out the same and just aged differently? Maybe your earlier one has a shellac finish, and mine the "wax" finish that is often mentioned?

Then again, Frow states that the LU-37 was only available in "brown mahogany, or Edison brown." Hmm, the names are so similar. I find it odd to offer two "browns" with zero descriptions of the finish in either name. Also, how can we be sure those two options were for the entire model run? Especially the early years....

Thanks for sharing! I think I will stain the birch, maybe the whole cabinet, with brown mahogany stain.

I bought this from the grand daughter of the original owner. The grill was lost long ago and they made a cutesy curtain with top and bottom rods to hold it in place. My neighbor lady is a whiz with a scroll saw, she has made several grills for me already, and I'm sure she could make one for this machine.

[CDBPDX]

Here is the owners manual that came with it. Again, no mention of the LU37 model, I think this manual is dated 1920, before the LU37 was introduced.

[Jwb88]

I love that catalog: "No need to describe this model..."

I could be completely wrong, but it's kind of like the only things they could say was, "It's not based on any period design but it's a bargain, so..."