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I bought this Edison Home awhile back from a deceased collector friends estate.
When I lifted the bedplate there was a note in the cabinet that said "rare German accessory" along with machines serial number.
Unfortunately I had never seen the machine before, so never got to ask John about the machine or how he received the information that it was a German product.

I've seen a couple posts here about the American made Phon-Arm, and as you can see, my accessory is not the same as the American version.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has seen or owns an accessory the same as mine, and whether anyone knows the name of the company who made this, or if it can be at least confirmed as being German?
Are these even rarer than the American made version?

It has no specific identifying marks or names that I can see.
The plating appears to be original but the back bracket has been repainted. It also uses the same size and style elbow as to fit a regular Victor horn.

Any information about this accessory will be greatly appreciated

That is quite interesting. I don't have any information to offer, however I am interested to learn more. Is it possible to see a full view including the horn?
Cheers, Russie

This may have either inspired Columbia to make back mount machines, or it copied them...

Is the back support cast, or machined? If it's machined, that could indicate a homebrew construction.

If however it's cast, that could suggest a device that may have been manufactured by some enterprising company, to bring to the marketplace.

Best,
Fran

The back bracket appears to be cast iron as there's a seam on the underside of the mounting that attaches to the cabinet.
I haven't dismantle the tonearm yet, but have been thinking I will to see how it all goes together, and to check if the bracket is actually iron or brass.
The front section of the tonearm is telescopic and the end sits on a small angled sleeve that slips over the reproducers throat, as pictured below with the tonearm fully extended.
I applied a small amount of grease to the top of the sleeve to give a better seal, and I guess other parts of the arm might benefit from the same treatment.

Ideally I'd like to find out who manufactured these, then look for original ads and a date.
If that happens then we might find out in what order the Columbia, phon-arm and this one was released.

I do have a couple px of the whole machine but you can't really see much as the horn hides a lot.
This horn however isn't the one that came with the machine.
This was a spare I'd had for over 20 yrs that I finally got to use.
The one on the machine when I bought it, has had an extra cone soldered to the original cone section and looks pretty daggy.
If it turned out the advertising or another example used the same horn, then I'll see about getting it repaired properly.
I might try and take a couple more pictures of the complete machine tomorrow in daylight, and perhaps from better angles to see the Edison better.

gramophoneshane wrote: Ideally I'd like to find out who manufactured these, then look for original ads and a date.
If that happens then we might find out in what order the Columbia, phon-arm and this one was released.

Knowing exactly when certain products were released can be tricky. Typically we collectors go by when advertisements first appeared, and an article that was printed in the September 2019 issue of The Antique Phonograph ("The Long Road to the Edison Cygnet Horn") addresses that. The BQ Graphophone appeared in August 1907. The Phon-Arm appeared in September.

There was another back-mount device that was first advertised in August 1907, and this was the Keen Attachment. At this time, only one complete example is known to have survived:
An article on the Keen Attachment is planned for the September 2020 issue of The Antique Phonograph, which will include background and detailed pictures.

I'm looking forward to details of the unknown device featured in this thread!

George P.

There is also this thread on the Keen attachment....viewtopic.php?f=14&t=26457&hilit=keen+attachment

gramophone78 wrote:There is also this thread on the Keen attachment....viewtopic.php?f=14&t=26457&hilit=keen+attachment

That's the one, and I'm delighted to report that it has found a new home!

However, I don't want to hijack this thread. I'm interested to learn if Shane's mysterious back bracket is magnetic, and if it was cast or machined. I'd also like to see how it attaches to the cabinet.

George P.

I would like to see a closeup of the elbow. I’ve had one in my parts drawer for years that nobody could identify. It might be like this one. Dimensions would be great too. Looking to solve a mystery.

Wes

I believe this arm could have been made by Excelsior of Germany. Page 98 of the Fabrizio/Paul book, A World of Antique Phonographs pictures what looks to be this very same attachment on an Excelsior Diamond model. I can't tell if your attachment was specifically made for the Edison Home or did this attachment originally come off a Diamond and someone added it to the Edison Home. Nonetheless, this may be a good starting point.

Scott