The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just recently purchased an Edison A-100 Diamond Disc that was sitting in storage in Newark N.J. since the late 1930's. The machine is in excellent cosmetic condition (once I scrubbed it, oil & waxed it) Got it playing real nice too and even the turntable felt is original and 98% intact. The interior was loaded with mouse turds, mouse nest, and thick dust and dirt, and the grille cloth was mostly gone, yet the grille is perfect. But after taking out the motorboard and horn unit here's what I found - a brand new reproducer still bolted in place as well as a never opened tube of Edison Diamond Disc grease! The machine has a reproducer already attached to the horn/arm so was this unit shipped with a spare reproducer I wonder? All the interior labels are totally intact showing that the cabinet was made in factory #3 in 1915. This machine has seen very little use over the years, and I assume it has always stayed in the Essex County New Jersey area where it was built back in 1915. (sorry about the blurry close-up photos)

Beautiful

Brian, what a treasure! How did you find out about it.

Clay

My wifes brother still owns a family business in Newark, N.J. He showed me a classified ad stating a large warehouse storage building being cleared out and the owner was selling the contents. He listed two pages of pretty good stuff including two Edison "machines", one wood one metal. The other machine was actually a floor model Edison Ediphone dictating machine that has seen better days but I snagged that too for parts including a sealed box of 12 un-used recording blanks. (cylinders) There was also a box of like-new Diamond Disc records, aprox. 20 of them with original sleeves. A decent find in a rather seedy run-down town that was once a beautiful industrial city in New Jersey when we actually made things right here in the US of A!!!

Oops, I sent my reply before logging into the forum. (as guest I guess) Duhhhh.....

That oak looks gorgeous. How about an over-all shot?

George P.

is that by any chance the machine from northern NJ that was recently listed on ebay?

No, this machine was bought in Newark, New Jersey and was almost black from dirt & grime before several hard days of cleaning the cabinet with Kotton Kleanser and Murphys Oil Soap, and then hand rubbed with wood paste wax and a little lemmon oil. The spindle legs were the worse as far as caked on grunge. The wood is now near perfect after the cleaning. It has the remains of a very fine greenish-tan grille cloth material I hope to match up some day, and the speed control dial needs some repairs done to it but it plays just fine. It could use a reproducer rebuild unless I switch the reproducer with the one bolted down inside the cabinet which I put back just the way it was after cleaning the inside. That one actually looks brand new! I find it hard to believe this machine was shipped with two reproducers, unless the owner purchased a spare one later on (?)

Added some more sharper cabinet photos - and yes the old candlestick phone and ringer still works!! I am also in need of the Edison record storage albums that Edison made to sit on the bottom shelf of this model if anyone has any they would like to sell me ??

I usually don't care for that case style but the oak grain brings it WAY up.