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Hello,

We recently bought an Emerson Model 14 phonograph and have been trying to research it to learn more about where and when it was made and its value. I've had trouble finding many examples online of this particular phonograph, and really haven't seen much about Emerson Phonograph Company phonographs in general.

Here are some details:
The cabinet is tiger oak with the original finish. The finish is very crazed on the outside but it's like glass still on the inside. It has a metal plate with the model information on the back and a beautiful decal inside the lid.

All the parts seem to be original to the machine from what we can tell. It works great, a little buzzy at times but everything seems to be functioning fine.

It has the wooden Music Master recessed horn with the decal. From the few pictures I've found of old advertisements, it seems like it had cloth across the horn door originally? That's long gone at this point.

Tucked away in the bottom, we found a paper packet of Emerson brand steel needles and a bunch of unused wooden needles. The seller also gave us some other brands of needles in packets and some 1920s record catalogs that had been stored in it for a long time.

My husband and I are novices to the talking machine world, and this is our first purchase. We fell in love with it on sight. The phonograph had been in the same family since it was first purchased, apparently.

According to an advertisement I located in Talking Machine World from July 1920, the model 14 was first made available that year, shortly before the company basically went bankrupt and transferred ownership. I'm not sure how long this model was made after that. It seems like Emerson phonograph cabinets were typically made in Indiana by the Wasmuth-Goodrich company around this time, but I don't know that for sure.

Does anyone have more information about Emerson phonographs? I understand from searching this forum that Emerson is an "off brand" type, but we intend to pass it down as a family heirloom and it would be interesting to know if it is worth anything, where it came from, when it was made, and who made it. Thanks in advance!

Forum member Emerson should be able to give you lots of info regarding this machine.

I would certainly recommend rebuilding the reproducer... it will sound a lot better and get rid of the buzzing. Looks like a nice machine, congrats!

Cheers,

David

Those wooden needles are fiber needles and can be re-pointed. They do sound good on the right records.

Steel needles must be changed after each play, and I'd suggest new ones at this point.

If you clean it up & get it looking good (and searching this forum has tons of tricks on doing that) you'll have something that looks as nice outside as it does inside, and don't worry about its "off brand" status. Music Master horns are excellent horns, and when it's rebuilt (as David suggests) it should give you a strong reliable sound that's actually pleasant for extended listening. Many of us here listen to our phonographs often.

Great machine and the little needle packets are nice ephemera!

Nice find! I agree with the previous comment. Look up fellow forum member with user name "emerson" and he should be able to give you some details about your machine.

Good luck!

It’s also better to stick with pre-1925 era records with this machine. Assuming that 1950s Mercury record came with the machine.

Welcome to the forum LakeBlues21,

While Emerson was founded in 1915 they didn't introduced their cabinet models till more around 1920. Yours dates pretty much between 1920-1922, when the company was sold the name was changed to the Emerson Radio & Phonograph Corp. This model was also in their first model lineup which was changed in 1923. (No serial number records survive to get an exact year.) . Emerson was more of a record manufacture, they made their cabinet models as more of an after thought as an attempt to sell more records. While they designed the cabinets I think they were made by a few different companies, Wasmuth-Goodrich was the biggest but sometimes you can find markings inside the cabinet. They went to a supplier company for the mechanical components who made them in mass for any company assembling their own machine.

Being oak makes it a little more collectable, but as you pointed out it's considered an off-brand in the hobby. Emerson is also considered a minor collectible off brand mainly for their records and later being a major radio company. I feel it's worth between $200-$400 if you sold it yourself trying to get a serious value.

If you seriously intend to play records I recommend getting it serviced and primarily sticking with acoustic records pre-1930.

That is a nice find---if it was closer, I would of picked it up. To have a machine from the original family ---to me is a really nice added segment of collecting. You should get the family to tell you anything and everything they know of it's history. I really like the Emerson needle pack, if you ever want to sell it, please let me know. Just my opinion, but I think Emerson might of used a ploy in his machine design ---having his phonograph as piece of furniture in the home, which was the newer modern part of the societies desire and also having the grander round horn from the older outside horn era----satisfying both sides of the consumer buying focus. Maybe / Maybe not ? What other Forum members advice is given---take it and know the collective knowledge can help you enjoy your entry into an enjoyable field of early recorded sound from 100 years ago. AND you got it at the right time---with Christmas soon to be here, playing a Christmas song from over 100 years ago adds a really enjoyable part of the Holiday. With the reproducer rebuilt as suggested by a member, a acoustic shellac record will bring you a sense of belonging to a time past by. Enjoy

Hello, I sent you a pm for your address---I have a photo copy from a catalog with your model description in it, that I'll send to you. ---Herb

Thank you all for your replies and the information about our phonograph! It's really appreciated!

Happy Thanksgiving!