The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently found ab0ut 12 or 13 Columbia cylinders. One was an XP brown wax. I now have a little collection of Columbia cylinders. Seems at time much much harder to find then other brands. Do you think the same? Neil

Columbia made cylinders for a much shorter length of time than Edison. When it comes to preservation I think that many owners stored away their machines and records because they had the magic name of EDISON on them. Columbia just didn't inspire the same degree of brand loyalty.

I believe much has to do with the wax formulation of Columbia XP cylinders (I've found Columbia brown wax to be just as good if not better than Edison). Over the years I have found mixed groups of black wax cylinders, and although the Edison records were in good condition, the Columbias were afflicted with mold.

By the same token, when I've had the good luck of finding large groups of primarily Columbia black wax cylinders, it has often been the case that they're ALL moldy - - despite the boxes appearing nearly to be pristine. And again, when there were one or two black wax Edisons mixed in, they were fine.

All this is purely anecdotal, but I've heard other collectors share the same experiences.

George P.

^^^^^
That.

I am quite sure that Edison's record sales far outstripped Columbia's, so that alone would account for a lot fewer Columbias turning up today. But in my 50+ years in the hobby, especially the early years when everything I got was a 'barn find,' I ran into vastly more moldy Columbia records than Edison. By a huge margin. I came to realize that pristine Columbia black wax cylinders are quite scarce (not that it has any influence on demand or value).

I have a relatively small number of Columbia cylinders, also... Most are moldy and I collected them mainly for the boxes, which make a nice display.

Thanks all for your thoughts and words. So from what I hear here my total collection of twenty Columbia cylinders is a good start on a collection. ha ha All the ones I have are in pretty good shape and shiny like new. Though in my newest finds a few of them date to the 1890s but since they are black wax I assume perhaps they are 'reissues'? Could that be? I looked them up in Sutton's little book Columbia Record Recording and Release Dates 1896-1934. Only a few pages in the back date the cylinders.

Yes, definitely reissues. (Edison also used the same brown wax era catalog numbers for later black wax reissues.) Columbia didn't go to black wax until late August 1903 (although it issued moulded brown wax for about a year prior to that).

George P.

George thanks for the confirmation that my black wax cylinders are reissues. But still good to find them and hear something that was issued in the late 1890s. A look into the past sort of speak. Neil

I had noticed this as well when I started buying cylinders in 1993. I found more Edison’s than Columbia’s. I also found that Columbia cylinders mostly show up in moldy condition or have very loud surface noise most likely from the mold. I only have maybe 2 Columbia wax cylinders which I keep for the boxes. I think one or two of each type of box is a nice collection. I have sold off most of my wax since I now just play the new reproductions.

I think the reason that the Columbia’s show up less often is that Columbia made cylinders for a shorter period of time, I think even when people bought Columbia machines, Edison cylinders were bought far more because of name recognition and many of the stars that performed for Edison. Edison sold very well in the south and customarily it seems the sourthern people held onto things more. Columbia sold much of its product through Sears and Roebuck Co. and most of them were probably discarded after disc machines became popular.

In my experience I have found probably 1 Columbia for every 50
Edison’s.

vansteem78 wrote:Thanks all for your thoughts and words. So from what I hear here my total collection of twenty Columbia cylinders is a good start on a collection. ha ha All the ones I have are in pretty good shape and shiny like new. Though in my newest finds a few of them date to the 1890s but since they are black wax I assume perhaps they are 'reissues'? Could that be? I looked them up in Sutton's little book Columbia Record Recording and Release Dates 1896-1934. Only a few pages in the back date the cylinders.

I would say 20 Columbia wax cylinders is a very good start.