The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On the way to Union this year I purchased a very early square top two clip Edison Standard. The first thing I noticed was a slightly more modern carriage and the remains of a C reproducer. Next, I noticed that the casting for the carriage rod was damaged. After looking more carefully and giving the machine some thought, I suspect that it was upended and dropped directly on the reproducer and carriage. The fall must have broken the reproducer, carriage, carriage rod, and carriage rod casting on the upper works. (see photo) With that much significant damage, why was the phonograph repaired? It must be because the machine was in the prime of its usefulness and the cost for labor and parts was less than the cost of a new Standard. I suspect the replacement parts were purchased early in the 1900's when the then current Standard was the Model A Standard housed in the "New Century" green cabinet with banner decal. The replacement carriage was one with a shaver and thumb screw for holding the reproducer which was common to the green case banner decal Model A Standard. The replacement carriage rod does not have the marks to set speed regulation. I believe these marks came with the introduction of the Standard B so it is likely the carriage rod is also Model A vintage. In my opinion, the most interesting repair was the use of threaded pins to secure the carriage rod to the broken casting. (see photo) Each end of the carriage has drilled through and the casting was drilled and tapped to accept hand made threaded pins. It was an accurate and perfect repair for the little Standard.

To get this machine ready for the CAPS sale, I did a lot of cleaning, lubricating, and minor repairs. I completely disassembled the upper works. The disassembly of the carriage rod showed me how creative and successful the old repair had been. The various gears and parts were soaked in solvent and cleaned. The upper works were dirty but cleaning with Go Jo revealed nice original paint. The upper works were lubricated and reassembled. I lubricated the governor and speed control and made a replacement belt. I cleaned the cabinet with Go Jo and clamped and glued a crack in the lid. I provided an original C reproducer and the correct shaver. The little Standard plays great and is a real "survivor".

Jerry Blais

Hi Jerry -
Nice clean-up and detective work! I think you've hit the nail (er, phonograph) on the head. Teasing out the history of an object is one of the things that I find most interesting in this hobby. If you'd feel comfortable sharing the serial number, I'd love to add it to my data sheet. In any case, thanks for giving us a peek.
-Martin

I have noticed quite a few of the "Square Top" Standards that have damaged corners on the base trim, presumably from being dropped. The suitcase clips were a poor choice of hardware to fasten the lid and then carry the machine around. I'll bet a lot of otherwise decent people cursed like sailors when their machines broke loose and hit the ground!

I will caution anyone today not to carry an antique phonograph by the handle -- after a hundred years, some of those lids are not too sturdy. I once met a guy that "stole" an Edison Maroon Gem for $50.00. As he congratulated himself while going down some stairs, the handle pulled through the fragile top and the machine bounced and tumbled down the stairs. The remains were then worth about what he paid for them.

It is serial number 16144. About how many Standards were built? Thanks, Jerry

Thanks for the number, Jerry! The highest number I have recorded is 820852 (owned by another board member). I only have about 1300 examples, so I can't be sure that some numbers weren't skipped. The change from 2 clip to 4 clip Standards seems to be around 20,000 and from 4 clip to New style cases at about 44,000. There are a few exceptions out there, so these cut-offs are not absolute. Thanks again for sharing!
- Martin

Great work,looks very good and mechanically excellent..
UHG! bouncing down the stairs,i can hear and picture that .ive done that a few times myself in excitement but not with a phonograph yet,but still do carry my portables with original handles from the 20s .