The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

2019 is a very special year for the City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society as we were formed 100 years ago (in May 1919, actually, as the London Edison Society) by a group of die-hard cylinder enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the increasingly obsolete medium. The name was changed at the insistence of Edison himself and became the City of London Phonograph Society in August 1919. In Britain, the word "phonograph" refers exclusively to cylinder machines.
To celebrate the remarkable achievement of not only surviving but thriving for 100 years, our Annual General Meeting will be a most special event. Held in the Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern, WR14 3ET the event opens on the evening of Friday 6th October with a wine reception and welcome from the Chairman of the Board, Richard Scott and in the presence of the Mayor of Great Malvern.

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER
10:00 "The Diaries of Fred Gaisberg" presented by members of the EMI Trust
11:00 Break for tea and coffee
11:30 "Probably as Famous as Caruso - The Gramophone co. in the Caucasus & Central Asia" presented by Will Prentice
12:30 Lunch
14:15 "Vesta Tilley - A Victorian Light" presented by Ray Sturdy
15:15 Tea/Coffee
15:45 "The Arrival of Jazz in Britain" presented by Norman Field
16:45 "The CLPGS Centenary Cylinder Project" presented by Simon Heighes and Tim Wood-Woolley
17:15 Break
19:15 Gala Dinner


SUNDAY 6th OCTOBER
09:30 Annual General Meeting followed by an open forum where members of the Board welcome questions and suggestions from the membership (fully paid-up CLPGS members only)
10:30 Tea/Coffee
11:00 Auction
13:15 Lunch
15:00 Live entertainment from "Hotsy Totsy"
19:30 Dinner

Throughout the weekend there will be an exhibition of gramophones and phonographs and historic pictures from the Society's past.
I understand that our allocation of bedrooms in the hotel is now full but there is still plenty of room for day visitors at a rate of £27.00 for the Saturday and £15.00 for the Sunday, admission to the AGM is free to members. Please book with the Membership Secretary, Elaine Hedger, on [email protected]. There is plenty of Bed and Breakfast accommodation to suit all pockets, in the Great Malvern area.

I look forward to seeing some of you there.

Tim W-W

Dear Tim W-W,
I'll be there for the first time!
I've consulted the members' directory, but I can't exactly remember if I'm the only Spanish member of clpgs... Besides that, my copy is obsolete. Is there any other member from Spain?

Dear Inigo,

Yes, we do have other members resident in Spain, in fact I understand one of them will also be attending at Malvern. There will also be members from at least Germany, Switzerland and Ireland attending, so it should be quite a cosmopolitan weekend.

I very much look forward to seeing you on Friday.

Regards

Tim Wood-Woolley

Thanks, dear Tim!
I'll be glad to meet you, Docs, and put faces and voices to ask those cherished colleagues that write so many interesting articles and books!
Regards!

Now that I've caught up with my sleep and dried out my liver a bit, I can reflect on what a great weekend this was. The feedback I have received is that all the members and our distinguished guests from around the world, enjoyed the entire weekend.

The exhibition alone was worth the trip to Malvern. I don't think I will ever see such a collection of jaw-droppingly rare phonographs, gramophones, cylinders and discs in one place again. There were 5, yes 5 original tin foil phonographs plus a box of used tin foil, a Kammer and Reinhardt Berliner Gramophone, a Bell and Tainter Graphophone from approx. 1896/7, plus dozens of the most amazing machines.

The presentations on the Saturday were of an equally high quality with a stunning account from the Diaries of Fred Gaisberg and William Sinkler Darby presented by members of the EMI Archive Trust, followed by Will Prentice on the Gramophone Co.s foray into the Caucasus and Central Asia. After lunch we learned of Vesta Tilley an English Music Hall star, and the Arrival of Jazz in Britain(1919)courtesy of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band presented by Norman Field. The afternoon session concluded with the launch of our own newly recorded cylinder records.

The photographs appended below really don't do justice the weekend but may give a flavour of what we experienced.

Thank you your update. The photos present a nice opportunity for us to experience (virtually, at least) our friends on the other side of the Atlantic! An impressive display by anyone's standard.

Best wishes,
Fran

Thanks for the images from the CLPGS's Centenary. It looks like it was great fun, and I'm sorry I was unable to attend.

There's an indefinable magic to events like this, held in aesthetic surroundings and filled with like-minded folk breaking bread together. Congratulations to those who made the arrangements and to the CLPGS for its first 100 years!

George P.

It was a cracking weekend. The Malvern event is normally a good chance to meet old and new friends, learn something, and add to one's collection, but this time it was special.

I definitely won't miss the 101st anniversary!

Keith