Amberola III - 100 years old
Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 6:00 pm
I thought other members might be interested in an Amberola III that I acquired this past summer. The serial number is 101 and the cabinet is stamped 52 on the inside. Since I never had one of the larger Amberolas before, I started to find out what I could from this forum, and other books. I first noticed that the cabinet looked slightly different than other Amberola IIIs that I located including the Edison release photos of Aug. 1912 or the advertising electros of July 1912-both in the Edison Phonograph Monthly.On this machine, there is no band of molding around the top of the cabinet (just below the lid); there is no molding just over the horn; a simpler piece just under the horn; a less elaborate curve to the album retaining rails and a simpler design to the shelf.
According to George Frow in his "Edison Cylinder Phonograph Companion", in Feb.1912 a sample Amberola III was made utilizing a Pooley cabinet intended to be used for a disk phonograph. 100 complete machines were next made in mahogany. After evaluation, 250 machines were made in mahogany and 100 in oak.I suspect that the machine I have is one of the 100 made before the original Pooley design was modified and the machines put into production. In the Jan. 1913 issue of the Edison Phonograph Monthly, on page 10, a photograph of a dealers' store window display shows what looks like an Amberola III that is the same as mine except maybe the grill. By the way, there are traces of a grill cloth on my machine but it was removed at some point. The metal horn is beautifully wood-grained to match the cabinet and I am loathe to cover it up.
This is my first posting on this forum although I have been a member for over a year. My name is Dan Zalewski and I live in the Hudson Valley area of New York State. The name I chose to use (Yamaphone) is supposed to mean "sound of the mountains" and was inspired by Frank Seaman's famous home and resort "Yama-no-uchi"
which in Japanese means "house in the mountains" This place, locally called "Yama Farms", is close to where I live. Much information about Frank Seaman and his famous resort can be easily found by searching for "Yama Farms"
According to George Frow in his "Edison Cylinder Phonograph Companion", in Feb.1912 a sample Amberola III was made utilizing a Pooley cabinet intended to be used for a disk phonograph. 100 complete machines were next made in mahogany. After evaluation, 250 machines were made in mahogany and 100 in oak.I suspect that the machine I have is one of the 100 made before the original Pooley design was modified and the machines put into production. In the Jan. 1913 issue of the Edison Phonograph Monthly, on page 10, a photograph of a dealers' store window display shows what looks like an Amberola III that is the same as mine except maybe the grill. By the way, there are traces of a grill cloth on my machine but it was removed at some point. The metal horn is beautifully wood-grained to match the cabinet and I am loathe to cover it up.
This is my first posting on this forum although I have been a member for over a year. My name is Dan Zalewski and I live in the Hudson Valley area of New York State. The name I chose to use (Yamaphone) is supposed to mean "sound of the mountains" and was inspired by Frank Seaman's famous home and resort "Yama-no-uchi"
which in Japanese means "house in the mountains" This place, locally called "Yama Farms", is close to where I live. Much information about Frank Seaman and his famous resort can be easily found by searching for "Yama Farms"