[Phono-L] What got me started
Ken's post about what got him started with the phonograph hobby inspired me on to begin a thread about 'first times'. Ken and others, I would be delighted to read your story. Here follows my own. It was probaby 1969, 1970, I was used to catching Dark Shadows, the macabre gothic TV soap opera, just after getting home from school. I was 15 or 16. One main line development of the plot involved a musical haunting of the family homestead by the ghost of a long passed relative who had been walled up to die in his room with his cylinder phonograph. In 1970, now was his time to get even. His theme song was incessant and pervasive when he was active and aprowl; it became a popular 45 release at the time (Quentin's Theme). His phonograph was an Edison Home, probably a second style model A; the banner decal was often visible to the viewer. The horn was at first a black Edison Home model, but later on, when the show started to be broadcast in color and when we had our first color TV, a maroon morningglory painted with a wreath of roses. That was how it all began for me. No matter the vague inconsistencies and inaccuracies of horn model, phonograph and the purported year of 1899 for having been walled up. I drove relatives, family, friends and quite a few strangers crazy with a growing obsession of wanting a horned phonograph. The passion plunged me into all kinds of research about the invention and history of the devices; I was feverishly hunting up anything that might have a picture or two...which...at that time was a pretty limited library. I wrote a term paper for a highschool history requirement on the invention. Every weekend that I could, I haunted a group of antique shops in a nearby town; one had 3 flowered morningglory horns displaying on a shelf near the ceiling; pink, blue and green- but no machines; another was offering a black Edison Gem for $80 or $90 and an Edison Standard with a large brass horn for $150a fortune for those days for me. Finally, after about a year of of making an ever increasing pest of myself in every antique shop and flea market in ever-widening radii around my hometown, we got a fateful phonecall one evening. A gentleman called from a shop saying he had a machine and would I be interested. He was willing to meet me and my parents at the shop that very evening. To say we rushed through dinner is understated; I suggested eating it in the car; some $50 later, I was the beaming, second owner of a Victor III with black and brass horn as well as a soon-to-be-treasured Victor batwing 78 of Irish tenor John McCormack singing Moonlight and Roses. Over the years I have had very little contact with other collectors, but I understand I now live near a couple of major 'powers' in Connecticut. I have a small collection mainly because I have not ever had the space nor great spare funds to afford to keep it fed. And for a period of many years, I stopped hunting things up; my college and early career, not to mention my hormones, sent me in other directions entirely for quite a time. I came back to external horn phonographs around the surfacing of eBay. I have a decided preference for external horn, Berliner/GT, Edison and Victor machines And since it is such a brief list, I offer the details of my group: 1 Victor III 1 HMV indeterminant 1920s model 1 Victor pre-dog Monarch Junior (marked Model E), front mount 2 Edison Standards, model A banner style 1 Edison Standard, Model F, with the model D designation struck out on the plate, cygnet number 10 1 Edison Home, model B, tall case 1 Edison Triumph, model A banner style 1 Columbia AJ, front mount, apparently 3rd style 1 Columbia early model Q 1 Gramophone and Typwriter early model 3, new style Kevin Tupper ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
[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
[Phono-L] Wanted: Large Gold-ring Victor Record Albums - Have trades
The following applies primarily to 10 albums: Sketchy research tells me the L-door Vic XVI came with albums that hold 15 records. Later square-door models came with albums that hold 16. Victor also made albums that held 17. My L-door will not physically accommodate a 16 or 17. I would like to purchase some 15's or I have several 16 and 17's to trade for 15's. I'm willing to pay postage both ways on a trade. thanks for your consideration, Darrell ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
Re: [Phono-L] Apology to all
So, John, did you see Loran's posting? If your phono-related story leads into your life and its interesting connections, it's within the rules to share it. Thank You, Loran! : ) Edward In a message dated 7/30/2012 4:49:30 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, john1.c...@ge.com writes: Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise. -Original Message- From: phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l-boun...@oldcrank.org] On Behalf Of John Robles Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 1:22 PM To: phono-l@oldcrank.org Subject: [Phono-L] Apology to all Good morning all. I received an email this morning from a list member stating that it would be nice if I did not use Phono-L for my personal email or soapbox, and that not everyone wants to hear all this. It was further stated that the purpose of Phono-L was to share and further our knowledge about our shared hobby. That is true. I simply responded to a public message that was posted by a list member. I had written him privately asking him to let me know how he was doing. He answered publicly. Was it off subject? Yes. I did not use the list as a soap box' I merely made a compassionate response to a list member's message. I assume he received a similar response. I also assume that if the medical issue had been cancer or some other mainstream ailment, I would not have been accused of being on my soapbox, which implies a political attitude. Be that as it may, I am sorry if my public response to a public message offended anyone. I will try to keep my compassion for suffering private from now on. John Robles ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
[Phono-L] What got me started
I have been enjoying the posts of What Got Me Started. I'd like to use them, with the author's permission, in the upcoming In The Groove. I wrote my What Got Me Started as the President's Message for the December (Christmas Special Edition) of In The Groove in 2010. See below: Ask anyone who knows me, and they will confirm I have always been Christmas's biggest fan. For some, this season is celebrated by the sharing of abundance. Others embrace the traditions of Christmas with visual displays of light and art. I was born with that singular defective gene that causes my soul to resonate through music, especially at this most magical time of year. One of my earliest and fondest memories was having my mother sing to me before bedtime. You see, my family was not musically inclined. I don't recall any family member volunteering to sing aloud in public. We were the move your lips to hymns at church variety. I remember it took great persuasion for this miracle to occur, but when it did; my Mother's voice would silence the world around us. Her song played upon my heartstrings and its memory has never grown dim. Of course, being a non-musical family, the only song she knew, or at least the only song I ever requested her to sing was, Pony Boy. That recollection is always called forth at this time of year for one of my most memorable Christmas gifts was a spring suspended rocking horse named, Pony Boy. It has become a personal Yuletide tradition that I dig out my two-minute Oxford cylinder #1198 of Quartette performing this most joyous of all Christmas Melodies, Pony Boy in honor of the season. Cindy and I were married in 1979, so it must have been fall 1980 that I fell in love (for a second time) with my first Victrola. John Houser was fifty years my senior and a wood working craftsman with no equal in my eyes. One day he was showing me the different wood projects he had created when I was taken aback by the interesting cabinet used as a display table crowded with assorted items. I asked if he made it. He just smiled at me and explained that it was a Victrola from his childhood. He told me that he used to play records on it at Christmas for his grandchildren, so he thought it should still work. I convinced him to clear away the years of clutter from its top so we could see inside. Once the lid was raised on this VV-215, I knew I had no recourse but to acquire one for myself someday. John could see that I was smitten and sold me that Victrola for a bargain price he knew I could afford, bless his heart. That VV-215 became the furniture centerpiece in our meager living room. During the rest of the year, it displayed photos of our family on its alligatored lacquer top, but at Christmas it was the perfect location for our miniature nativity displays. It quickly became our family's annual tradition to play Bing Crosby's White Christmas (over and over) on it as we decorated our Christmas tree. Once Jessica and Timmy advanced past the toddler stage, the White Christmas tree decorating ceremony would end and our children would once again be reminded that we had a Victrola right there in our living room. Let's play more songs, they would plead. Not being one to deny my children the simple pleasures of life, and given my propensity to corrupt their innocent little minds, we would play Frank Crumit's Show Me The Way To Go Home (Always good for a letter home from the daycare center the following day). For sentimental reasons, we would follow that up with Crumit's Oh, How I Wish I Were In Peoria, the city Cindy and I spent the first night on our multi-state honeymoon adventure. Our next-door neighbor was a retired Wabash College German language professional that migrated from Germany in 1936 as Hitler was gaining power. Dr. Planitz gifted me with several of his classical music 78 RPM album sets that he brought with him to the United States. After the kids were tucked in bed, I would play Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, 4th Movement (in German) and Bach's Brandenburg Concerti while admiring the newly decorated Christmas tree in apology to the Victrola for playing Bing Crosby's White Christmas 23 times in a row. The children have grown, and so has my antique phonograph collection, but there will always be a special place in my Yuletide heart for that VV-215. Now if I can just find a copy of Pony Boy on 78 rpm. Thanks, Tim McCormick ___ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.org
[Phono-L] How it Started
These stories are fascinating! Here's mine: When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my dad would take me with him to my grandmother's house while he mowed the lawn and did yardwork. There was a separate building that my grandfather had built for the kids bedrooms, because the original house was only one bedroom to begin with. He later added onto that. This back house consisted of four bedrooms, one for my dad, one for his brothers, and two for his four sisters. I used to love to look through these rooms, because at that time they were full of old junk as all the kids had gotten married and moved out. Among these things was a tabletop oak Columbia Grafonola Favorite. My grandmother was strict and did not let her daughters go out to dances, so she bought the Grafonola so they could listen to music at home. There were boxes of records, all predominantly in Spanish as that was my grandparents' first language. There were songs, comic sketches, etc, all bought from a man who would come to our town regularly from Los Angeles. I learned to love playing records on the little machine, not knowing I was probably using the needles too many times! My grandmother passed away, the house was rented, and all the lovely jumk was absorbed into my uncle's garage, to rot away over time. In the late 70s when I was in high school, a friend went to help his buddy clean out their garage, and as payment was given an Edison Standard model A cylinder phonograph and a bunch of records. I was completely fascinated with it, and asked him if he was going to keep it. He wanted $50 for it, which was a fortune to me, and even though another friend said he should give it to me since it didn't cost him anything anyhow, he kept it. I never forgot that little machine. Fast forward to 1982, and I was living in San Francisco. I met a teller named David Chess where I banked, and we got to know each other over time. He showed me a Victor III that he owned, and he told me he collected phonographs when he lived in Akron, Ohio. I remember it was like a light went on in my head - You can collect these things? His first was a Victrola XI which he got at an auction for $4.00 after another bidder's wife said Aww let the kid have it. Then there was an Edison Fireside model A that he got for $35. It had a model C reproducer, and he had read an ad by Karl Frick stating he sold reproducers. David sent away his model C, and for a price, Frick stuck a Model S weight on it so it would play 2 and 4 minute records. Another Frick Freak. The III he had bought for $50, as I recall. It was his influence and guidance, more than any other thing, that got me started collecting. One day I saw a Victrola VI in a music shop. I asked the owner what he wanted for it, and he said $100.00. I had a decent German violin for which I had paid $25, and he agreed to a trade! I got it home and called David immediately. He came right over, not having forgotten to bring records and needles. He wound it, It thumped. The spring is broken, he said. My heart sank. I sent it off to Frick, and he sent the motor back in working order, We played it and all was well. That summer I attended my first CAPS show, when it was held in a tiny sweatbox of a conference room at Griswold's Hotel in Fullerton, California. There i bought my first cylinder phonograph, a beautiful little Edison Standard model A, in the new style case. It was $238.00. I bought several wax cylinder in mint condition for $5 each from Ed Linotti I believe. I still have the first four I ever bought. We got the machine to my house, and it didn't play correctly. The speed was too slow no matter how we cranked up the speed control knob. I thought it needed a new belt. I made one, but the sound didn't change. Then I opened the cabinet again, and David said What's that? There was a strip of wood on the bottom of the inside of the cabinet which lay directly under the spring barrel. David thought if I removed it maybe that would work. I did, and the machine played perfectly. Many of you probably realize it was a piece of packing material used to stabilize the motr during shipping. In almost 100 years, it was never removed! I wonder how people ever enjoyed music with it in place?? Since those early days, I have bought and sold many machines. I have had an Amberola I, two Victor VIs, a Pathe Le Menestrel, maroon Gem model D, a Columbia AB, a mahogany Standard B and a mahogany Home B, and many other machines. My fascination seems to be the chase and capture. Then I use the machine for awhile, and sell it to buy something else. At this time I have 7 machines, an Edison Fireside with cygnet horn and model O reproducer; an Amberola VI (very quiet one too!), an Orthophonic 4-40, an Edison Diamond Disc A-200, Edison Amberola X, Victrola IV, and a scarce Columbia Style 24 table model grafonola. I have had as many as 14 machines at once, and as few as 2. I have many
