The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I don't know much about cylinders, but these seem somewhat less common. Can anyone enlighten me? Thanks

I presume they will be variations in different countries perhaps? The recording blank is almost certainly used for the dictaphone or other recording machines. An interesting find!

The first box was made at Edisons French branch, and the third box at Edisons German branch. Neither box is rare, but they certainly dont turn up anywhere near as often as the US or UK boxes. I recently bought an empty German box in pretty much perfect condition for $15, but I've seen then go for far more when they contain the 2M cylinder
The second box is a US Everlating box. They were a celluloid cylinder like Indestructible/Columbia/Oxford, and I think (?) Everlasting eventually got bought out by Indestructible.
The forth box is quite an early one...I think from around 1900-1901. I keep hoping to find one of those myself, but so far have only managed to get the pale blue versions that came straight after these.
And lucky last is a "4 minute" recording blank box, and would have contained a black wax blank for use with a 4 minute recorder, for home recording on any Edison phonograph with a spring big enough to last the duration. The 4M blanks were a harder wax than the brown 2M counterpart.
If you look closely, you'll probably find the label has been pasted on top of a regular 2M gold moulded box. If I remember correctly, the 4M recorder & blanks were released right at the end of the 2 minute cylinder era (1912?), and what better way for Edison, than slapping a new label on obsolete boxes to get rid of them.

some of my favourite cylinder boxes: