The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello,

My wife and I will be traveling from Canada down through upper NY to PA to sight see and do a little antique hunting in mid August. Are there any must see phonograph sights in these two states or the NJ area (close by) which anyone recommends?

I have found the Edison National Historic Sight in West Orange, NJ. Has anyone visited this park and is it worth the time from a phonograph collectors perspective?

On previous trips through Ontario, Michigan and Vermont we visited other collector's work shops and had a great time talking a shared passion. Are there any along our route?

Thanks

Bruce

I'd definitely recommend the Edison National Historic Site. Try to schedule your visit so you can also tour Edison's home. I wasn't able to do that myself and wish I'd had.
Also, I just recently toured the rather eclectic Bayernhof Museum, located near Pittsburgh. Tour reservations must be made in advance, as the group size is limited, and the tours happen only on weekdays if I recall correctly.
http://www.bayernhofmuseum.com/
Bob

I was just at the Edison complex in West Orange this past Thursday. Lots to see and learn about the genius and inventor of the 20th century. Although the phonograph was his "favorite invention", the exhibition showed little of interest for the experienced collector. Oddly, Victor and Columbia uprights were shown in the "Music Room." Behind the enclosed display on the 3rd floor of the lab complex where the tinfoil machine is displayed (a reproduction?), you can see stored possibly hundreds of Diamond Disc machines in every configuration; some very complex and ornate, but not clearly visible or available for inspection. A nice side trip for fans of Edison, but not much of a phonograph display if that is what you are hoping to see.

The E R Johnson Victrola Museum in Dover, DE, would be a must-see!

http://history.delaware.gov/museums/jvm/visitors.shtml

Also, Walt Sommers has his workshop hidden away in the wilds of Gettysburg, PA.

Walt's site is www.victrolaguy.com , he has generally seemed happy to greet visitor's with a passion for phonographs. Obviously, contact in advance. John S.

Debence Antique Music World may be out of your way, but it is in PA.

http://www.debencemusicworld.com/

They have a wide variety of music machines. The phonographs are are small portion of the collection. I find the nickelodeons and music machines fascinating, and they will play them for you. It may not be worth the mileage to specifically go there, however, if you are in that region of the state, I would recommend it.

(you mentioned Michagan, I hope you visited the music house http://www.musichouse.org/)

The Tinfoil machine in your picture IS indeed the original Phonograph built by John Krusie in 1877 and IS the first Phonograph. If you want to see in NYC where Edison's New York studio was, it was 79 5th Ave the Knickerbocker building. Supposedly on the roof. The top floor is office cubicles now, so no sign of it being the Edison studio. Another interesting place is

Edison Exploratorium
(518) 372-8425

132 Broadway, Schenectady, NY | Directions
View Website

Thank you all for your great advice. I think I will have a great trip and now all I have to do is ensure I see a few non phono related sights to keep my wife happy. She loves our collection but I think a whole week of phonographs will likely be a little too much to ask.

Bruce

DrGregC wrote: Oddly, Victor and Columbia uprights were shown in the "Music Room."

As you may find in another thread, those machines were used for purposes of comparison against the Edison product (cf. a photo of the Music Room, ca.1917)

If you are looking for a non-phonograph, but still historical site, you might consider the The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. It is very close to the Edison site and is a small, lovely exhibit. http://www.stickleymuseum.org/. You could do all of it in one or two hours at most. Also don't skip the mansion at the Edison site. It's fun and much less phonograph related that the factory itself.

Dan