The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A few months ago I bought a machine that came with a case of early black wax cylinders and an apple crate of other cylinders, some in cases and some not. Today I just started looking through the apple crate for the first time. I was delighted to find that it had some (uncased) brown wax cylinders in it, with varying degrees of mold, and some early Edison cases with the cotton wadding, containing more early black wax. (I find the wadding a pain to deal with, but it's uncommon and thus interesting to me.) Then I opened a newer Edison Gold Moulded case and was startled to find this inside. I have thousands of cylinders but, to my knowledge, have never come across a pink Lambert before. (I say "to my knowledge" because, as I only collect stuff in the wild and often pick up cylinders in lots, I haven't gone through much of what I have yet.) Is that, in fact, what this is? Can anyone tell me anything about it? I don't own the Lambert book, so I know nothing about these; except, now, I'm starting to realize that I may have some black Lamberts, as I have come across in my collection celluloid 2-minute cylinders with black raised lettering on the rim (as opposed to the typical inset Indestructible lettering). This cylinder is very light, and as you can see in the last picture, there are pink streaks inside it, as well; is there supposed to be a lining of some kind that is gone? It is solid, but I haven't tried to play it yet. I would be grateful for any and all information and tips anyone can offer -- as I said, I don't know anything, so don't hold back because you don't want to tell me something you think I already know. I would also appreciate any information about this particular title -- when it was recorded, etc. I can't even tell if the number is 57 or something longer.

Thanks!

It’s a pink lambert. I got my first one in rather the same way. It’s kind of similar to the way Charlie finds the Golden Ticket to visit Willy Wonka.

Here’s an even more fun way to find them…

That is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.. Tom

Regarding the core, US pink Lamberts don't usually have one. The UK equivalent from Edison Bell typically has a core made of plaster.

Congrats on finding a Pink Lambert in the wild. Such things, in the pink, were manufactured in Chicago until Sep 1903, and afterwards, in black, into early 1906. From the very first, they were sued by Edison on grounds of patent infringement, and even Columbia gave them a hard time (on the 5" dia.) Generally, the Lambert Co would win in the Courts, but the ongoing cost of legal wrangling eventually caused their (desired) bankruptcy. The small ones sold for 50c apiece and before they were pink - they were white (uncolored)!

A helpful overview of this interesting company (and the amazing variety of their cylinders) was given in the Sep 2021 issue of The Antique Phonograph, in their longest article to date (11 pages).

Allen