[Phono-L] How I started
I have a sister who is 17 years older than myself. When I was ten years old (in 1967), she took me with her to visit one of her high school girlfriends who was married. In their dining room was an oak upright phonograph. Even at that age, I loved music and had never seen anything like it before. I was all over it checking it out. Up until that time, I was a comic book nut and had hundreds of them, even comics from the 1940's that I had found. That Summer, two things happened -- my mom threw away my comic book collection when I was gone to my aunt and uncle's for the Summer, and I bought my first phonograph, a Columbia 'Symphony' at a roadside flea market for $2.00 Within a couple of months, I bought an Edison 'Home' Type C with an all-brass Hawthorne & Sheble 'daisy' horn and a boxful of cylinders for $25 and I all but forgot about comic books. In those days, phonographs were quite easy and inexpensive to come by. I often picked them out of the trash or had people si mply give them to me. We were living in Buffalo, NY at the time. I remember more than one rural antique store that had proper barns just stacked with cabinet phonographs -- take your pick $4 each. External horn models were a bit more -- ranging between $25-$65. Information about phonographs was very scarce and I had only limited access to books such as 'From Tinfoil to Stereo', 'The Fabulous Phonograph', and Jim Walsh's and Aida-Favia Artsay's columns in 'Hobbies' magazine. In 1969, I saw an Edison 'Standard' for sale in the Buffalo paper's classies. I called the number and it was Paul Baker who was three years older than myself. We talked on the phone for a couple of hours. Paul, who has mentored by John Perschbacher, became my mentor. We would spend hours rebuilding phonographs and playing records. We would drive around Western New York looking for phonographs when Paul only had a learner's permit! Anyway, that is how it started for me. Paul and I are no longer close, also because of the hobby. I now have 45 years under my belt and have loved every second of it, except for when I have had to sell machines, or had friends pass away. I'm a reasonably smart fellow who requires a lot of brain input and this hobby has certainly provided that. Not a week goes by that I don't learn several new things, or even seen something I've never seen before. I love it, and am grateful to have this wonderful interest! ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
Re: [Phono-L] How I started
I should mention that years later I went back to my sister's friend's house to see what phonograph it was that got me started. It was a plain little oak Pathe' X! > From: appywan...@hotmail.com > To: phono-l@oldcrank.org > Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:15:58 -0400 > Subject: [Phono-L] How I started > > > I have a sister who is 17 years older than myself. When I was ten years old > (in 1967), she took me with her to visit one of her high school girlfriends > who was married. In their dining room was an oak upright phonograph. Even > at that age, I loved music and had never seen anything like it before. I was > all over it checking it out. Up until that time, I was a comic book nut and > had hundreds of them, even comics from the 1940's that I had found. That > Summer, two things happened -- my mom threw away my comic book collection > when I was gone to my aunt and uncle's for the Summer, and I bought my first > phonograph, a Columbia 'Symphony' at a roadside flea market for $2.00 Within > a couple of months, I bought an Edison 'Home' Type C with an all-brass > Hawthorne & Sheble 'daisy' horn and a boxful of cylinders for $25 and I all > but forgot about comic books. In those days, phonographs were quite easy and > inexpensive to come by. I often picked them out of the trash or had people si > mply give them to me. We were living in Buffalo, NY at the time. I > remember more than one rural antique store that had proper barns just stacked > with cabinet phonographs -- take your pick $4 each. External horn models > were a bit more -- ranging between $25-$65. Information about phonographs > was very scarce and I had only limited access to books such as 'From Tinfoil > to Stereo', 'The Fabulous Phonograph', and Jim Walsh's and Aida-Favia > Artsay's columns in 'Hobbies' magazine. In 1969, I saw an Edison 'Standard' > for sale in the Buffalo paper's classies. I called the number and it was > Paul Baker who was three years older than myself. We talked on the phone for > a couple of hours. Paul, who has mentored by John Perschbacher, became my > mentor. We would spend hours rebuilding phonographs and playing records. We > would drive around Western New York looking for phonographs when Paul only > had a learner's permit! Anyway, that is how it started for me. Paul and I > are no long er > close, also because of the hobby. I now have 45 years under my belt and > have loved every second of it, except for when I have had to sell machines, > or had friends pass away. I'm a reasonably smart fellow who requires a lot > of brain input and this hobby has certainly provided that. Not a week goes > by that I don't learn several new things, or even seen something I've never > seen before. I love it, and am grateful to have this wonderful interest! > > ___ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.org ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
Re: [Phono-L] How I started
My introduction was about 1950 with the Victor, V-0 in the attic of our farmhouse. I was fascinated with how the records would roll down the steps and not all of them would break. I now have the records that didn't break (or at least completely) and my brother has the machine. But the mid 50's was when I really started to enjoy the early records with my Godmother's VV-XI in her attic. I would play it for hours, not knowing you had to change the needle once in awhile. I now have that machine with the records included. I was also lucky to get the Regina that sat in my Grandmother's dining room. That came out of the farmhouse I lived in also, but long before I was born. Aaron Hunter ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
Re: [Phono-L] How I started
HI What model regina you can get a birth certificate for it through the mbsi zono -Original Message- From: Aaron Hunter To: phono-l Sent: Tue, Jul 31, 2012 4:10 pm Subject: Re: [Phono-L] How I started My introduction was about 1950 with the Victor, V-0 in the attic of our farmhouse. I was fascinated with how the records would roll down the steps and not all of them would break. I now have the records that didn't break (or at least completely) and my brother has the machine. But the mid 50's was when I really started to enjoy the early records with my Godmother's VV-XI in her attic. I would play it for hours, not knowing you had to change the needle once in awhile. I now have that machine with the records included. I was also lucky to get the Regina that sat in my Grandmother's dining room. That came out of the farmhouse I lived in also, but long before I was born. Aaron Hunter ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org