The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

So, here I am, interested in building a small collection of machines. I have a couple of Edison Home D cylinder machines, an Edison Diamond Disc, and a nice Brunswick upright. But I also am limited by space and (alas!) money!

So if I were to build a small collection of smaller yet interesting machines, what should I get? I do lean toward the external horn machines, and I am running out of floor space. What would be good machines to look at?

Thanks,
browncow

Well Browncow,

Everyone will have different opinions on this. I'd be willing to bet most of us started out wanting to have "small collections". It's just we were not (at least I was not) very good at sticking to the plan.

My original plan was to have a small collection consisting of;
1) An Edison Diamond Disc
2) An Edison 2&4 min cylinder machine
3) A Victor horn phono

I did that. Within my first couple years of collecting I had a Hepplewhite Diamond Disc, a combination Edison Standard and a Victor III.

Things quickly got out of hand

Regarding your preference for horn machines, the bigger ones take as much space as an upright. After all you've got to set it on something. They are usually more expensive than typical cabinet machines and many don't sound as good or run as well as the larger, later cabinet models so that's something to consider in your assessment. There are some really nice floor models out there!

How now Brown Cow?

Welcome to the board. Bruce pretty much hit it on the head. My advice, based upon what I have experienced myself: When I started collecting, I brought home everything I could get my hands on, and it too quickly got out of hand. Then I started to refine and only go after they items I found interesting. I have passed by some very nice machines, media, and emphemra at very good prices just because I wasn't as interested in them as other items.

Think about what you are most interested/fascinated in and focus on those items.

Being new to this forum,I have to agree with these two collectors.I will add one thing that I have done as a way to curb my expansion of machines,etc....I stayed with one format.I set that right at the start.No cylinder related items.Don't get me wrong.I love to see a great Edison model and give them equal importance.However,it will allow you to narrow down what could end up being a never ending hoard of things.It can also work in your favor if you buy a collection and you have already ruled out the cylinder machines that can then be used to help pay for the disc models you like.This all said you may want to collect cylinder machines instead.There is no right or wrong.It's whatever truns your crank.You may even want to have one example of every type.
Just my opinoin.

gramophone78 wrote:I stayed with one format.I set that right at the start.No cylinder related items.Don't get me wrong.I love to see a great Edison model and give them equal importance.However,it will allow you to narrow down what could end up being a never ending hoard of things.It can also work in your favor if you buy a collection and you have already ruled out the cylinder machines at can than be used to help pay for the disc models you like.This all said you may want to collect cylinder machines instead.There is no right or wrong.It's whatever truns your crank.You may even one to have one example of every type.
Just my opinoin.

I agree with Graophone78. Setting boundaries can help save space and allow you to spend more money in your main area of interest.

My original plan was to have a small collection consisting of;
1) An Edison Diamond Disc
2) An Edison 2&4 min cylinder machine
3) A Victor horn phono

After that failed miserably and I'd accumulated quite a bit of stuff I set some boundaries, stayed more or less within them and sold of stuff that did not fit.

My boundaries were/are:
- No machines after 1920 with main focus before 1915
- no records after 1930
- Focus on Edison Victor and to some extent Columbia

I've pretty much stuck to that even though it's excluded me from buying some very desirable stuff that others discuss on this board.

Buy only what you like and buy the best quality you can afford. An example... You have $700 to spend and would like to have a cylinder machine. Your choice is between a more common Edison Home in very nice condition and an Edison Triumph with issues. The Home is more common and the Triumph is less frequently seen. I would advise buying the Home. You'll always be proud to own it and if you buy the Triumph, you'll always be looking for an upgrade.
I know a collector that recently bought a world class Berliner. If he only had that machine and related items, I would consider that to be a wonderful collection and worthy of any any collectors interest.
My wife gives me good advice. If I am considering something, she'll often say..."don't you already have one of those? She's really asking if a potential purchase adds interest to my collection and that's a really good question. It makes me stop for a moment and think and ask myself the same question.

Jerry Blais

Every one has slightly different taste and perhaps reasons for owning machines. I personally always enjoy hearing them. Its surprising how many collectors I have met that have rooms full of machines but care little for how they really sound or did sound. Having always wanted the best possible sound from the era I tended to always be drawn to larger internal machines.. While many favor horn machines and even enjoy the way they sound, I never found them easy to incorporate in a room setting which is important to me. Plus the ones I have tried due to the age the machines were and mechanisms many used had trouble running well or quietly or for very long. All important features in my mind.

I have owned easily 50 machines over the years, probably more. But at the moment I am down to three Edisons Disc Machines and one fine Brunswick upright, plus about three nice portables. Of those only one is actually in the home I live in. The rest are next door to me at my moms in her storage area, or basement (which is pretty nice actually). I like a machine to look like the room its in and take its original place as a musical instrument for the home. Although many are perfectly happy with it, I have never found a need to have wall to wall machines, and if I did a few times I pretty quickly rid my self of the excess to return to a more simple and original effect.

I am most likely an exception here in that respect as many collectors find the machines comforting in some way and enjoy the quantity of them around.

I certainly don't have a big or rare collection: six machines, plus about two more under construction (waiting for bits & pieces, and I expect to get one machine out of two).

For me, sound has always been the issue: I love to play the machines and I have a big and growing collection of 78's. So I never look at a machine that won't play the music I want to hear, and do it well. To me, a talking machine is a musical instrument.

Though if I could ever afford a Berliner... or a Victor Monarch...

Which brings the storage issue up: three machines at home, three at my ranch cabins...

Probably good that I don't have the money!

Nat

Nat wrote:I certainly don't have a big or rare collection: six machines, plus about two more under construction (waiting for bits & pieces, and I expect to get one machine out of two).

For me, sound has always been the issue: I love to play the machines and I have a big and growing collection of 78's. So I never look at a machine that won't play the music I want to hear, and do it well. To me, a talking machine is a musical instrument.

Though if I could ever afford a Berliner... or a Victor Monarch...

Which brings the storage issue up: three machines at home, three at my ranch cabins...

Probably good that I don't have the money!

Nat

My feelings exactly..

Larry

Welcome to the forum!

That is a good question for a first post and good input from all the members. I started collecting about 3 years ago in my 20's... grew up in West Orange, NJ my whole life (home of Edison / home / factory / current museum)... so naturally, my collection has evolved into a main majority of Edison Diamond Disc phonographs. Unfortunately, Edison DD phonographs are largely similar in mechanics... and "largely" as in large pieces of furniture to house those mechanics.

But for non-Edisons, I like to have a sample of varied "formats", say...

- internal horn upright
- internal horn tabletop
- external horn tabletop
- rigid tonearm
- console / lowboy
- portable
- toy / novelty
- Army / Military
- Orthophonic
- Asian art cabinet
- craft / folk
- disc / cylinder
- accessories
- ...of course, records to play on them
- and more!

A good thing about a lot of these format / categories can be small. So, when space is an issue (as has been discussed), you can still have some fun with the smaller ones.