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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1880-Edison- ... 3743130680

Weird or what ........

Ahhhh...shameful You can see where someone cut off the entire right side, straight edge, etc. Perhaps it was broken but if not it's a shameful modification IMHO. The motor and left side works appear to be present and working though.

Bizzare and really cool if you ask me. As always, YMMV...

Fran

Heartbreaking.

The seller claims these modifications were "period," but that could be as accurate as his claim of 1880 for the machine.

In any event, someone destroyed the top casting of what appears to have been a very nice Edison Class M, and a Hawthorne & Sheble "Nonpareil" cabinet. Both are high-end items that would be welcome additions to nearly any collection of early phonographs.

This particular Class M dated from December 1897-January 1898, as it carries the Edison trademark decal (which appeared in December 1897), and is the earliest top casting I've seen with this decal (beating out the former winner by 21 serial numbers). At least this listing had a silver lining for me with this data.

But what a shame.

George P.

phonogfp wrote:Heartbreaking.

The seller claims these modifications were "period," but that could be as accurate as his claim of 1880 for the machine.

In any event, someone destroyed the top casting of what appears to have been a very nice Edison Class M, and a Hawthorne & Sheble "Nonpareil" cabinet. Both are high-end items that would be welcome additions to nearly any collection of early phonographs.

This particular Class M dated from December 1897-January 1898, as it carries the Edison trademark decal (which appeared in December 1897), and is the earliest top casting I've seen with this decal (beating out the former winner by 21 serial numbers). At least this listing had a silver lining for me with this data.

But what a shame.

George P.

It would be nice to get a glimpse under the hood at the motor. That should give us hints as to possibly when it was destroyed.

Fran

Pics for posterity:

It's worth noting that there does not appear to be a hole in the cabinet for a crank. If that's true, this cabinet was originally intended for a Class M, which makes it even rarer. This might account for the Class M's very nice condition. What a stunning combination this...was.

George P.

on the plus side, might be a unique restoration project opportunity

Truly a shame, but for the right price it could be an outstanding candidate for restoration. The cabinet alone is incredibly rare.

Now imagine if the modification were period. I would actually find that quite interesting.

Garret