The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Last year when I bought my VV-XI amongst the records and ephemera I got with it, I noticed this old ad clipped from a newspaper classified inside one of the drawers. Does anybody know who this was or has done business with them? Thanks.

Yes, I remember him, but I am not sure if he is still around. It was over 30 years ago that I ordered some parts from him.

That would be "Karl Frick." He used to run ads in the old "New Amberola Graphic," which if you haven't seen it, was a very interesting publication -- https://archive.org/details/newamberolagraphic I saw a few ads from other newspaper archives going back to the early 1970s.

I did a quick search of obituary records and found no reference to a Karl Frick in the Santa Barbara area, but they only go back about 15 years. If he's still alive, he would be 103 year old according to the information on this page:

https://www.beenverified.com/people/karl-frick/

"Karl O Frick
City: Santa Barbara, California Age: 103
Relatives: Michael Frick, Kenneth P Frick, Marianna S Frick
Addresses: 940 Canon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA "

They still have listings for people I've known who have passed away, so you can't rely on the site's accuracy.

OrthoFan

Karl Frick died many years ago. Back in the 70s and 80s he sold all sorts of parts. He also made some dreadful horns that were not reproductions of anything, just fantasy pieces which were often called "Frick's Follies" back in the day.

His collection was sold a long time ago. He had some great pieces. I now own his Columbia Type G "Baby Grand" of 1894 -- a really great machine.

He used to run ads in the old "New Amberola Graphic," which if you haven't seen it, was a very interesting publication -- https://archive.org/details/newamberolagraphic

Thanks for this link! I love this old newsletter and didn't know it was online. I particularly like the "Orthophonically Speaking" series of articles on Victrola Orthophonic phonographs.

Ah yes, Karl Frick I remember. I was new to phonograph collecting in 1974. Karl was best known by me for his horns. I needed one for an Edison Gem and saw his ad for them. Being a novice, I didn't know that his construction methods and quality were frowned upon by collectors. They educated me about my bad buy and eventually the machine went to someone who didn't care about the horn as much as I did.

Recently, I saw one of his horns on Ebay. It reminded me of those early days, of the learning I had gone through, and of the fun I had, and am still having, in this hobby. So, now, seeing this thread about the guy who made funky horns, it leaves me with a fond nostalgic thoughts.

TinfoilPhono wrote:Karl Frick died many years ago. ....

Here's what I've been able to find -- according to the SS Death Index:

Karl O. Frick
Last Residence: Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, 93110 USA
Born: 13 Nov 1914
Died: 3 Feb 1988

From: https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse ... 1&uidh=000

That would be "Karl Frick." He used to run ads in the old "New Amberola Graphic," which if you haven't seen it, was a very interesting publication -- https://archive.org/details/newamberolagraphic I saw a few ads from other newspaper archives going back to the early 1970s.

I bought a few parts from Karl Frick. And I had no idea that that the New Amberola Graphic was on line. There are quite a number of articles penned by yours truly in that publication, back in those pre-internet days when I had more time to write. I always though it was a pity that Martin Bryan stopped publishing it.

Jim Tennyson

My brother has a reproduction horn he bought from Frick. They called them "Frick's Freaks" back in the day.