The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Here are some photos from the California Expo.

Jerry Blais

Thanks for the photos!

James.

Sadly, I’m unable to attend, and the painful longing I had been experiencing is now exacerbated by seeing the presence of examples of the extraordinary and extremely rare Cucurbitaceae-o-Phone.

These phonographs are unique and hard to come by. To see more than one example today in the same place at the same time is mind boggling. The details of their origin is cloudy, but research has found that - at some point - manufacturing was by a small firm located in Albany Oregon: The Ducks’ Delight Wing Nut & Bicycle Company.

The tonal quality of the Cucurbitaceae-o-Phone must be heard to be believed. The marketing slogan doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue, but is reputedly an accurate representation:

“Buy the Cucurbitaceae-o-Phone Today! You’ll Think You’ve Gone Out Of Your Gourd!”

Still amazes me, how many machines survived into the 21st century. Since many were destroyed in the 1930’s.

Thanks for the tour! It must have been very exciting to be there, especially if you have a bunch of $100 notes in your pocket...