The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I have a Richmond Starr phonograph that I actually know very little about. Not sure where to start on finding out more.
All I know it was made in Richmond Indiana. anyone that can help me out I would appreciate it.

Once the basic patents held by Columbia And Victor ran out, there were literally hundreds of brands of lateral disc players marketed. Most were of inferior quality, except for a few like Sonora, Brunswick, Aeolian-Vocalion. I believe your machine may be related to the Starr Piano company which was also responsible for Gennett records. I have no idea as to the quality or rarity of your machine, however if you want the best "player" for your records, you are better off with a more well known brand.

If it is indeed a product of Starr Piano (also maker of Gennett records) then I believe there is a museum and historical resource for you to inquire from. Do a search on the internet for Gennett.

Hi,

I used to own a Starr myself. It was a piano company that got into the phonograph biz for a short time.
Here is the specific page with my old machine and some discussions about it:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... r&start=30


Note that the tonearm and reproducer in the photos are incorrect. I can't seem to find any pics of
my post restoration with the proper tonearm.

Frankly I was happy to let this machine go. Not all of the off-branders are poor quality but many have
pot-metal tonearms that crack and break easily as well as other substandard parts. Due to the limited
production runs of these models, finding parts is no easy task either and can be quite expensive. Of
course it all comes down to personal preference and many are happy with the non mainstream machines.

The Starr Piano Company was owned by the Gennett family. Several of the buildings are still standing in the industrial portion of Richmond, Indiana along the river. The Starr-Gennett Foundation preserves the legacy of those companies, and their museum is located in several areas within one of the StarrPCo buildings that has been converted into a large furniture and home decor several. They owners if the store are the major backers of the S-GF. Here is the link to their website:
http://www.starrgennett.org

Starr phonographs are rather typical of record players built between 1917-1924 in design and construction. They are commonly found today because they were produced for a number of years by a then-prospering company with an established distribution network of dealers (many other brands withered and died because of poor distribution in the saturated 1917-1924 market). The most unique thing about the Starr is the connection to the Gennett record label. Gennett was one of the few companies at the time to record black musicians, so the jazz and blues on that label is highly collectible. The records are a lot harder to find than the phonographs, unfortunately.

The local historical society is headquartered in the old Gennett mansion that sits further up the embankment into town more, and overlooks the factory that sits down in 'the Hollow' along the river.

Google is always a good place to start when doing research on the Internet on just about everything.

Starr was a good piano maker with woodworking capacity so the cases on their machines are usually of excellent quality. Unfortunately the tone arms tend to develop cracks and crumble with age.