Class M Restoration

[Andersun]

I worked on the upper deck of the Class M this week. Attached are some pictures. Much to my surprise after I buffed out the lower bed plate, I found the name E.L. Hausmann scratched into the finish! It is in the area which is covered by the upper bed plate.

The carriage rail was very rusted and took several hours to remove and clean. The whole assembly needs just some fine cleaning and it is good to go. The reproducer was corroded but cleaned up very good. The original glass diaphragm and linkage was perfect! The passage of time was not good to the nickel plating on the carriage. The pinstripe is about 75% to 80% gone but a lot of the filigree is still visible on the corners.

Steve

[OrthoSean]

Wow! Looking good so far, Steve!

Sean

[SonnyPhono]

Finding the name scratched into the bedplate is one of the most fascinating aspects of this machine in my opinion. Any phonograph with some sort of a history behind it to trace is very interesting.

I am curious. Have you attempted to trace the name E.L. Hausmann? I was able to come up with some interesting information about some books written in the early 1900's, (one was written in 1900 and the other around 1910 if I remember correctly) regarding DC machines and early dynamos. They were written by E. Hausmann and it would really add to the curiosity of your Class M if it was owned by the author of those books.

Here is a link to one of the books he helped to write:

http://books.google.com/books?id=hMgJAA ... &q&f=false

[ChuckA]

I was told that it is common to find the name of the worker who put the phonograph together scratched in the bedplate.

Can't verify this as the only Class M I ever owned had a nickeled bedplate and no name on it.


Chuck

[Andersun]

I am curious. Have you attempted to trace the name E.L. Hausmann?

I didn't find anything in Google and plan on doing an Ancestry.com search. I have sent an E-mail to the curator of the Edison National Historic Park asking him for possible information about the machine, name on machine, and the "Sold For Use Only in the United States and Canada" plate.

Did you find the books in Google Books?

Steve

[SonnyPhono]

I am curious. Have you attempted to trace the name E.L. Hausmann?

I didn't find anything in Google and plan on doing an Ancestry.com search. I have sent an E-mail to the curator of the Edison National Historic Park asking him for possible information about the machine, name on machine, and the "Sold For Use Only in the United States and Canada" plate.

Did you find the books in Google Books?

Steve

Glad to hear someone else who uses Ancestry.com. I use it often and didn't come up with much regarding Hausmann. But there is so much information on that site that it can take hours of searching to come up with exactly what you are looking for. It's a great tool though.

I found the books using a normal Google search but don't recall the parameters I used. I know I searched for "E. Hausmann" just as it's typed here with the quotations and included another word in quotes. ex. "E. Hausmann" "edison" or "E. Hausmann" "phonograph". Will try again in a bit and will let you know what I find and the words used to search.

I'm really curious to hear what the Edison National Historic Park has to say about it. Thanks for keeping us updated! : )

[Andersun]

Sorry, when I said "asking him" at the Edison National Historic Park, I meant Gerald Fabris.

[Starkton]

for possible information about the machine, name on machine, and the "Sold For Use Only in the United States and Canada" plate.

E. L. Hausmann could be of German origin. Perhaps you find him in immigration office files or in passenger lists.

The "Sold For Use Only in the United States and Canada" plate was attached to phonographs from late April 1893. (Alfred Ord Tate to Edison United Phonograph Co., April 21, 1893, TAED D9343ABJ)

[Andersun]

Starkton,
Did this apply only to phonographs being used only for entertainment purposes? The earliest Homes, Gems and Standards all have that disclaimer on them but I have never seen a Class M with it on.
Thanks!

[Starkton]

Did this apply only to phonographs being used only for entertainment purposes?

It applied to all phonographs from April 1893. Many phonographs were sold to territories outside the US and Canada which violated the rights of the Edison United Phonograph Co. To protect their foreign territories, Edison United demanded from the Edison Phonograph Works to affix to all machines manufactured from it a plate to restrict the sale.