The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

While you were all enjoying yourselves at Union, I was in the Bay Area slaving away at work.....and picking up a goodie or two. The Columbia N has always been one of my favorite machines. I was finally able to put together the Columbia N variants as seen here:

Very sweet Scott. You do have an eye for good finds.

This is a very nice view. I have never seen all three variants together.

A few weeks ago I exhibited my Columbia "Bijou" for the first time in public lectures I held at my university. My experience shows that the "Bijou" is not only a feast for the eyes, but, being stable, light and compact, an ideal machine for both private parties and occasional lecturers. Although a littIe nervous because of public attention I could easily and foremost fastly switch between cylinders. The strong motor run evenly and the reliable mechanism was easy to use and explain. Several hundred people saw and heard it and expressed surprise about its proper functioning.

Introduced in autumn 1895, the "Bijou" was the first phonograph especially designed for the non-professional public who wanted a simple, reliable and economic machine for home use and occasional presentations. No wonder that it was exported worldwide, sold in larger numbers and can still be found and purchased for bearable sums.

Starkton wrote:This is a very nice view. I have never seen all three variants together.

A few weeks ago I exhibited my Columbia "Bijou" for the first time in public lectures I held at my university. My experience shows that the "Bijou" is not only a feast for the eyes, but, being stable, light and compact, an ideal machine for both private parties and occasional lecturers. Although a littIe nervous because of public attention I could easily and foremost fastly switch between cylinders. The strong motor run evenly and the reliable mechanism was easy to use and explain. Several hundred people saw and heard it and expressed surprise about its proper functioning.

Introduced in autumn 1895, the "Bijou" was the first phonograph especially designed for the non-professional public who wanted a simple, reliable and economic machine for home use and occasional presentations. No wonder that it was exported worldwide, sold in larger numbers and can still be found and purchased for bearable sums.

Very well described and the reason I am such a fan of this format. The topworks are possibly my favorite of all the cylinder formats and your description "feast for the eyes" is right on.