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At the recent APS Midwest Expo I took this Edison Home in partial trade towards a Victor IV I was selling. I noticed some good parts on a rough looking machine but the other party was anxious that I make the machine function again and I promised I'd try. After arriving home a brief inspection revealed a low serial number of H5584. I called our resident expert and all around nice guy, George Paul, to confirm numbering did not start over with the "New Style" cabinet in 1901. He replied that serial number H5584 dated from 1898 and it should have a nickel plated ID tag with a last date of May 31, 1898. I was impressed because George was driving and this came from memory! So this machine left the factory in 1898 as a suitcase Home and was rehoused sometime shortly after Autumn of 1901 when the new style cabinet was made available for customers wishing to re-case their machine to make them similar to current selling Homes. (Frow & Sefl) We'll never know if this machine was re-cased because the suitcase cabinet was damaged or if it was changed for appearance only reasons. It is interested to note that suitcase mechanisms were held in place by two studs in the cabinet located top right and bottom left. This cabinet was not drilled in all four corners but shows evidence of screw holes top left and bottom right. Comments appreciated.

Now the fun begins with minor repairs and cleaning.

Jerry B.

I should point out that the numbering font differs from that typically seen on suitcase Homes, and a Home this early should have a nickeled plate mounted at the front of the top casting (as seen below). Nickeled mandrels were phased in during production in the 8000-9000 range.

This Home is a head-scratcher.

George P.

phonogfp wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:32 am Nickeled mandrels were phased out during production in the 8000-9000 range.

This Home is a head-scratcher.

George P.

030.JPG

Phased out, or phased in?

Not in bad condition, straight forward restoration.
That will look very good when you're finished with it.

James.

JerryVan wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:49 am

phonogfp wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:32 am Nickeled mandrels were phased out during production in the 8000-9000 range.

This Home is a head-scratcher.

George P.

030.JPG

Phased out, or phased in?

Good catch! Corrected...

George P.

When an early machine was re-cased it would be interesting to know what percentage were re-cased to make them more current and how many were done because of damage. The machine in this thread should have a brass mandrel but it's nickel plated. My best guess is this machine suffered a serious fall which badly damaged the case and mandrel and was repaired with parts from 1902 or so.

Jerry B.

Off to the hardware store to buy more clamps!

Jerry B.

I will be getting this machine soon and I have a theory: This could be a later 1898 to early 1901 machine that may have a forged serial number that was eventually housed in a new style case. It can’t be a late 1901 or early 1902 machine because of no swirly design next to the gate and the serial numbers were moved to the ID plate when the new style cases came out.

Now I could be very wrong and this was originally left the factory in April 1898 but I think this is what makes sense to me the most!

I am now the new proud owner of this machine! Thank you Jerry! And I have so many questions. I wonder if this isn’t a transitional machine from 1901? What’s the latest machine to have the silver patent plate separate from the serial number? Was there a small window in 1901 where the first new style cases were fitted with mechanisms that would have gone into a suitcase model?
But then there’s that April 1898 serial number??
I GOTTA SOLVE THIS MYSTERY!!!

And I also got a mystery case and works from an unknown external horn disc machine I will need to make a new thread about later!

Oh, And this part doesn’t have that swirly design yet.