The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I made another drive, this time to hang out with my daughter. It "just so happened" that there was an auction a mere 3 hrs away from her place so while she slept in on Sat, I hit the road. There was a lot of nice furniture, an Edison Gem "B", a Edison Home "A" (w/ banner on the lid), and an Amberola 75 in mahog. but I went to see the phonolamp that was for sale. It is a "Fairy" made by the Endlessgraph Mfg Co. from Chicago. This one has an oxidized bronze finish although they were also made with a woodgrain or verdigris (greenish) finish (Fabrizio and Paul, Phonographs with Flair, 2001, pp.60-61). According to Reiss, 1996, p. 195, it was made from 1918-1923. Interestingly, it has original, old Edison Mazda light bulbs that both work. There is a repair to the light support part and the reproducer is a replacement, but hey, how many of these do you see- especially with such a nice shade? If it weren't for the accursed phone bidder (alright, which one of youse guys was it?) I would've gotten it for a song. It was still not awful bad in the end.

Here are a few pics: Overall, 24 hrs drive roundtrip, but who's counting??

schweg wrote: If it weren't for the accursed phone bidder (alright, which one of youse guys was it?) I would've gotten it for a song.

Lucy used to talk to Ricky on the phone too, or did she?

What did it go for? Thanks, Jerry

Very lucky stroke to find one with such a clean original shade and early Edison bulbs.

You've really been on a roll lately!

congrats!

When I first read your post I assumed the phone bidder won the lamp. It was impolite to ask what you paid for the machine. Sorry!

It's a great item. Thanks for sharing your photos with us.

Jerry

Having never seen one of these in person, just a few photographs, I would love for you to post more detail photos, including shots of the motor. I would also like your impressions of sound quality?

Phototone wrote:Having never seen one of these in person, just a few photographs, I would love for you to post more detail photos, including shots of the motor. I would also like your impressions of sound quality?

Sounds like a "Featured Phono" candidate to me!

Hope to have some time for more pictures this weekend.

Pictures that were requested although I didn't want to tear the whole thing apart for fear of breaking a wire. It is a simple electric motor, I didn't see a governor anywhere. The horn is small, as seen in the picture of the bottom so it definitely does not measure up sound-wise to many other phonographs. More of just a decorative novelty.
Steve

Steve,
You're aware that there is a volume control built into the arm, right? It corresponds to the on/off switches.