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First post here, I recently acquired a very early caseless Columbia type B Eagle (serial number 80824) mounted on what is possibly a repro sears cast iron nickeled base. The main oddity of this machine is the early unusual belt cover, which only says "Type B, No. 80824, Am. Graph. co.". I'm curious if anyone knows anything about this early oddity as I couldn't find another with this type of belt cover.

Lovely machine! According to George Paul, in an article he wrote about the Columbia Eagle in the June 2012 issue of The Antique Phonograph, the earliest uncased Eagles were stamped with just the basic information you have on yours. After around 116,000 the covers were stamped with the full information we typically see. His article includes a picture of a belt cover like yours, serial number 81628.

Since serial numbers on Eagles began at 80,000, yours is the 824th made. That's early!

Thanks for the info! The very early serial number is why I snagged this one. I think the base could be a repro after reading that someone made repro sears bases. Either way it never had a case to begin with so I think it makes it all the more unique.

Welcome to this marvelous place, and congrats on your lovely machine.
As a curiosity... In your photos, the band cylinder on the machine ready to play is well displayed. Have you seen how strong the recording looks? These grooves seem to be electrically recorded! That cylinder must be very loud! I'm nuts about cylinders, did many of them show such a loud recording? I know band instruments always were pretty suitable for good acoustic recordings, but the looks of this one are impressive. In fact, I own some acoustic band disc recordings and they sound almost equal to electrical recordings, except for a slightly muddled treble register. I even own one of those 11 ½" German Odeon acoustic brown label recordings on the 'Sonora' series, which is incredibly loud, overmodulated, would I say... Do anyone knows in what consisted that special recording system of German Odeon?

Inigo wrote:Welcome to this marvelous place, and congrats on your lovely machine.
As a curiosity... In your photos, the band cylinder on the machine ready to play is well displayed. Have you seen how strong the recording looks? These grooves seem to be electrically recorded! That cylinder must be very loud! I'm nuts about cylinders, did many of them show such a loud recording? I know band instruments always were pretty suitable for good acoustic recordings, but the looks of this one are impressive. In fact, I own some acoustic band disc recordings and they sound almost equal to electrical recordings, except for a slightly muddled treble register. I even own one of those 11 ½" German Odeon acoustic brown label recordings on the 'Sonora' series, which is incredibly loud, overmodulated, would I say... Do anyone knows in what consisted that special recording system of German Odeon?

I share your observations about cylinders. The one on the machine is a two minute indestructible and those 2 min Indestructible band recordings were often recorded extremely loudly. I think the floating reproducer on the Eagle would struggle to manage it. On my youTube channel I have recorded several Indestructibles on a Triumph with the excellent O reproducer and even that barely handles some of the loudest ones.

Maybe they used some pantographic process as did Pathé in France... Pantographs initially were designed to provide amplification or reduction of movements, so maybe these people used amplifying pantographs... Who knows... If there are strange clanking sounds, they are usually a symptom of pantographic dubbing.
On the other hand, we know some recording experts managed to get very accurate and good acoustic recordings....

Nice early caseless Eagle! These $10 versions don't turn up nearly as often as the cased $12 Eagles, and were discontinued in 1899.

Your belt cover is the earliest style for caseless Eagles. Here's another one: A bit later, the caseless Eagles were given the same belt covers as the $12 cased models, but with their serial numbers added: Evidently, some people were removing the belt covers, and thus the only serial number on the machine, so Columbia stamped the serial number on the back edge of the metal base of later caseless Eagles: As for your Sears base, it appears to be one of the reproductions commissioned by Aaron Cramer in the late 1980s. These are still valued by collectors 30 years later.

EDIT: Here's a post about another early caseless Eagle:
http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... ss#p131462

George P.

I thought that phonograph looked familiar. I sold it earlier this year on ebay. As I noted in the listing at the time, the base is a replica (I think it came from the late Aaron Cramer), and the serial number was/is the lowest I've seen on an Eagle.

-- Grant

Fonotone wrote:I thought that phonograph looked familiar. I sold it earlier this year on ebay. As I noted in the listing at the time, the base is a replica (I think it came from the late Aaron Cramer), and the serial number was/is the lowest I've seen on an Eagle.

-- Grant

It's a small world, isn't it?

As for serial numbers, I showed Eagle #80040 (the 40th Eagle manufactured) in one of the articles in the APS magazine. It's the lowest known serially-numbered Eagle, and is identical to later examples up to about #116000 except for the lid decal. #80040 carries a decal with the "27th Street & Broadway" address; usually seen on mid-production Type A Graphophones. Eagle #80044 and up to around #403000 carry the common decal with 3 New York addresses.

I happen to own Eagle #80156 (the 156th Eagle manufactured). It's not unusual in any respect except for its low serial number and in carrying an Eastern Talking Machine Company metal plate. It's notable that the Eagle entered the marketplace in virtually the same form in which it ended production a decade later - - a beautiful and efficient design from the first. By contrast, the AJ and AH Disc Graphophones went through rapid changes during their first months of manufacture. The Edison Gem reportedly has a couple dozen variations just in the Model A!

George P.

The indestructables play quite nicely on mine, but I think I'm gonna have to put a new wax ring in the reproducer as it's pretty quiet. I'm also gonna have to replace that little piece of felt or leather that's on the governor speed tensioner. Not surprising that it's worn down though considering how old this machine is.