The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I've attached a picture of an item coming up for sale. The tag on the bedplate states this is a Columbia Model AT with serial no. 72***. The case looks like a Model A case. The motor and bedplates are interchangeable for these two models; they simply drop into the case. I thought the Model AT always came in a fancy case and the A in a case like the one in the photo. Have the innerds been swapped out or is this a legitimate case for a Model AT? I lean towards this being an AT motor in an A case, but would like to know what others think.

An AT would have a double spring encased motor.

According to Howard Hazelcorn in his Columbia cylinder book on page 88-89 he notes that a few low serial no. "AT"s have been found in type A cases. But on page 88 the serial no. range for the AT starts at 201xxx. So your's is a puzzler.

I have an AT with the early unembellished case like that of the N and A. The serial on mine is 208166.

You might look inside the one in question for signs of the unencased spring of a Type A motor rubbing on the inside of case bottom. That could be a clue that it was repurposed.

You can trade a later AT mechanism into an A case but, you cannot latch the lid in that instance (the latch systems are different). On the bedplate of the mechanism that properly fits into the plain case, there are two holes in the bedplate for locating the pins in the lid. Those pins keep the lid from sliding around on the bottom part while carrying from the lid handle. If your bedplate has those holes, check to see if they have been drilled after leaving the factory, or if they appear to be original holes.

All great suggestions. Thanks, everyone. I plan to see it tomorrow or the next (Saturday). I'll post an update.

John

Hi John;
Were you able to look at the plain cased AT and the motor? Is the motor original to the case? The case itself looks to be in good condition.

Yes, I did. It was an early Model AT. The bedplate had an AT metal tag. The serial number was not five digits but four. The latches were on the side. There were no slots in the bedplate for the lid to fit through. I could not inspect the motor. The bedplate was stuck and would not lift out. I would have liked to see the motor. In addition to having only one mainspring (no barrel), the Model A has gears that are much more substantial than those on an AT. Despite not seeing the motor I am fairly certain this was an early Model AT in its original case. If there were any funny business it could only be because someone attached a metal AT tag to a Model A machine. That was not the case.

But not purchased?

Did you end up bidding on it? What was the final price?