The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On Howard Hope's website I was amazed to find this tiny picture of a Manhattan coin-op in its original setting. Alas, the online image is tiny and my attempts to tweak it in Photoshop don't help much since the resolution is poor. Supposedly this was previously downloaded from somewhere online but a Google Image reverse search, as well as TinEye, fails to find it. I'm wondering if it may have been an eBay sale that I missed.

Any chance anyone here has a better scan? Or better yet, the original photo? I would love to be able to print this out to 8x10 to display with my Manhattan. It even clearly shows the unique earpieces used on these machines but rarely found today.

What an interesting image! I've never seen that one before.

Something seems a bit off to me though - - Look at the guy's clothing. Look at the disc records displayed on the wall. 12" discs weren't introduced until 1903. And look at the partially-obscured ad for Edison Records behind the man's head. That looks more like 1907-1912 in layout. The entire tableau looks more like a display or exhibit from 1915 than a shot from 1900.

Any clothing experts out there? To me that hat looks like something worn by Miller Reese Hutchinson in the teens.

I could well be wrong about all this, but it all seems a bit anachronistic to me. Still a wonderful image though!

George P.

George,

I agree with your observations. However, in doing research for an upcoming article, I have learned that coin operated penny arcades were in business all through the first decade of the 20th century. I have found news articles of major enterprises opening penny arcades that document a significant number of coin-operated phonographs being put in service in those establishments as late as 1908. The history on the Manhattan is sketchy at best. However, there is good evidence to suggest these machines were in service for a long time, being "repurposed" for different vendors over time. So, while it may be late, it is certainly plausible that a Manhattan was still in public operation beyond 1910.

What ever it is, it is a cool picture!!

Shawn

I was able to lighten the original it a little.
Have you tried getting in touch with Howard Hope to find out where he got the photo?

Yes, I contacted him first thing. He says he found it on the web at some point and archived it, but has no idea where it came from and has no larger version. I can't find it with reverse searches so I am wondering if it may have been an eBay auction that is now gone.

I ran into this photo on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1915-Edison-Pho ... 3ca3998ad3
Based on the fellow's clothes, I'd guess that it was at least the 1920s. The memorabilia on the wall suggests a museum setting.

Compare it to another photo from the same seller taken in the same location: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1915-Edison-Pho ... 518aefc412
The fellow in this shot seems to be dressed in what I think of as late '30s to early '50s clothes. Regardless of the date of the photos, I'd sure like to have one of those machines.

-Martin

*** On second viewing: Could this be the same guy in the same shop twenty years later?***

Aha! Nice find, thanks for that! Yes, it would appear that this is some kind of museum or collection setting, and certainly well after the turn of the century. There sure weren't many people collecting (or museums who cared)back then so I really wonder what the story is.

But I'll still buy a print anyway.

Can you believe this seller has over 170,000 items listed???

170,000


We'd all be dead before we finished looking at his listings.

LOL

blizz

Shawn wrote: I agree with your observations. However, in doing research for an upcoming article, I have learned that coin operated penny arcades were in business all through the first decade of the 20th century. I have found news articles of major enterprises opening penny arcades that document a significant number of coin-operated phonographs being put in service in those establishments as late as 1908. The history on the Manhattan is sketchy at best. However, there is good evidence to suggest these machines were in service for a long time, being "repurposed" for different vendors over time. So, while it may be late, it is certainly plausible that a Manhattan was still in public operation beyond 1910.

Shawn

Shawn,

Granted. But just think of all the 4-minute Hexaphones still out there, playing Blue Amberols that weren't introduced until 1913! Coin-operated cylinder phonos were being put into service far beyond 1908. And as for longevity, I've seen a couple of different early 1890s Edison coin-ops with Tewksbury repeaters that had been converted to play 4-minute cylinders. Those machines were still giving service after 20 years!

My question was not so much the possible age of the Manhattan, but its surroundings and their incompatibility with an original arcade. Martinola's detective work justified my suspicions. But now I too am curious as to where and what this display was.

I wonder if this was a corner of the Edison National Historic Site (now Historic Park) museum in West Orange 50-60-70 years ago? (Everything seems to be Edison-related, although I can't make out the disc labels on the wall hangers.) Perhaps the first fellow was simply wearing "old-fashioned" clothing for the publicity shot.

George P.

While on the subject, here are a few photos of coin-op phonographs being used.
This one looks to have an early fan in the upper left-hand corner.