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Thanks! As to its playing, I haven't played it in years - - probably for a decade. I do recall that it didn't play as well as an Amberola V which is one of several "daily players" here, but I don't recall a noticeable warble. You're right - belt tension and the free play of the tensioner is often the culprit in cases of warble. George P.

Beautiful machine! I really like the way they've painted the grill and the condition is great. Say... how does it play? A lot of cylinder phonographs seem to warble quite a bit - I see it has a belt - I suppose that's the weak link in the chain usually?

Yes - that otherwise black end-plate is yet another aberration. Those weighted Lyric Reproducers don't appear very often either! George P.

Thanks, George! No, the 10" horn wouldn't make sense, (even without my knowledge of the original catalog listing), but as you say, it's a nice one. As I recall now, the price was a good one for the horn alone. I also find it interesting that only the s/n is shown, with none of the other data included on later examples.

MODEL: Edison Amberola VIII SERIAL #: 2419 YEARS MADE: October 1913-December 1914 COST: $45.00 CASE/CABINET SIZE: 16 1/4" deep x 13 1/2" wide x 16" tall. Depth and width measurements include base. REPRODUCER: Diamond B MOTOR: Fireside B REPRODUCTION PARTS: None CURRENT VALUE: ? INTERESTING FACTS : Here's another example of a machine that isn't terribly scarce, but it's a cute little wedding cake in very nice condition. I bought this at the 2012 Union show, and probably paid more than market value at the time (to say nothing of now). Still, it was Sunday and we were preparing to head back to New York State. I had bought next to nothing at the show, and you all know that feeling... You drive 11-12 hours to get there, spend three days looking around, and you're going home with NOTHING? Well, I've always had a thing for the Edison "faux-grain period" of ca. 1910-1914. The A-series Disc Phonographs and several of the early Amberolas feature that wonderful grain-painting that seems simultaneously amusing and masterful. This little Amberola VIII was still sitting in a booth at the end of the show, and I suspect its price had discouraged other interested parties. I thought I might have a chance at getting a better figure at that point in the show. The dealer wasn't sharing my optimism, but as I stared at the thing I decided that I needn't add another "I should have bought that..." to my already lengthy list. I'm glad for that decision. This is original finish. Two faux-grained metal grilles (is that rear one a grille?) and a grained horn rising above it all like an oak swan. Now, you might think that this grille has been repainted. Believe me, although it looks perfect, it's only "pristine." In strong light you can see a few signs of age.

I've seen several 1905-06 Graphophones with the decal on the rear panel of the cabinet. Although a couple of possible explanations occur to me, it's a mystery. I haven't encountered any period references to the phenomenon. BEs were not originally cataloged with 10" nickeled horns, but I don't blame you for the purchase - both the horn and the machine are outstanding. There can't be many lower serial numbers still existing! George P.

MODEL: BE SERIAL #: 76 YEARS MADE: COST: CASE/CABINET SIZE: TURNTABLE: N/A REPRODUCER: Early, weighted Lyric MOTOR: HORN DIMENSIONS: 10" Nickel Plated REPRODUCTION PARTS: None CURRENT VALUE: INTERESTING FACTS : Another uncommon, common machine. What's wrong with these pictures? The banner decal appears to be on the backside of the cabinet! To my understanding, the earliest versions were like this. I have often wondered if this wasn't a mistake, corrected after the initial batch of cabinets were sold. This also has the early, weighted reproducer. With a serial number of 76, I'm wondering of anyone has one earlier or even close to this one. It would be fun to compare features. Anyone?? I purchased this machine only to get the nice little 10", nickel plated horn that came with it. Only later did I question the odd decal placement and low s/n.

That's my dad & I at 13:35. A nice memory. Thanks for that.

Very funny! If you weren't there, and weren't a guy, you have no idea what this means. 😉

Allan Sutton (Edison Blue Amberol Records – A Discography 1912-1929) and Ronald Dethlefson (Edison Blue Amberol Recordings, VOL II, 1915 – 1929, p.403) documented the activities regarding the collaboration between Edison & Ford for these recording sessions. From Dethlefson’s works, ©, Used with Permission: Of the 10 private recordings from the 1st session in 1915, not released and privately held by Ford, two have surfaced recently, likely from copies given to local schools, “Lola” (number 4 sequentially) and “Believe Me”(number 6 sequentially). Sadly, someone has glued an inner-plastic sleeve into “Believe Me” and it will not fit on a traditional mandrel for transfer. We are working to get this transferred, but attached is a crude acoustic transfer of “Lola”. Is anyone else aware of other examples of these ten recordings that can be posted to this thread? Lola.m4a

So sorry to hear this, my condolences to Randy, Mike and the Donley family. I remember back when Union was twice a year. And the parking lot hustle before the the show opened. Being a collector and dealer Union was a great part of my collecting life. Joan & Rob thanks for the great memories, with the video. So many familiar faces (now gone) from the early M.A.P.S. days. Larry C

🤪 I do remember contests to melt the most. I miss some of what we had in those days and the video really does take me back. What a nice tribute.

The video really takes me back - it almost felt like being there again. All that was missing were the ice cubes... Thanks Robin and Joan! George P.

Thank you for letting the collecting community of our incredible hobby know about the loss of one of its founders. It is because of Larry and the Donley family that our hobby continues to this day in a manner where we collectors gather in a central location to rekindle and maintain friendships and are able to buy and sell phonographs all under 1 roof. Larry will be missed and my condolences to the Donley family The video says it all. Wonderful memories! Scott

LOVE IT!!!! So many memories.

Thanks for the announcement. We will all miss Larry and his enthusiasm. He lived a long and meaningful life.

An icon of the phonograph hobby, Larry Donley passed away May 26, 2026, at the age of 95. Larry was born June 24th, 1930, and became captivated by vintage phonographs. He amassed a large collection and shared his enthusiasm for the hobby with the world by building a museum, theme park, and by hosting phonograph shows that brought in phonograph enthusiasts worldwide. For over 40 years phonograph collectors would gather at the Mecca of phonograph shows at Union Illinois. As collectors we are indebted to Larry Donley for that first gathering of about a dozen collectors for a swap meet in 1974. That was only the beginning. That same year Larry and his wife, Halene, together with their two sons, Randy and Mike, transformed this passion into Donley’s Wild West Town also known as Seven Acres Museum and Village. Our condolences to Randy and Mike Donley and their families who are active in the hobby and the Donley Auctions at Union Illinois. We would like to share a video reviewing 40 Years of Union Shows we presented at the 40th annual Union Phonograph Show. Perhaps you’ll recognize many fellow collectors that are no longer with us. (Maybe you will recognize yourself when you had hair.) Sit back, enjoy, and thank Larry Donley for his dedication and passion for the phonograph hobby that we all enjoy today. Below is a link to view a 30-minute visit to the Union Phonograph shows that we enjoyed in the past and is continued with shows sponsored by the Antique Phonograph Society today.

These albums are German and must be fairly early - they´re made for one sided records only. I don´t know offhand when "Die Stimme seines Herrens" started to make double-sided discs... I know a lot of the HMV records in Europe have the mark "Reproduced in Hannover" on them - especially one sided discs. I´ve found a few that are labeled "Made in Russia" - but they are much fewer. The big album - for the largest discs - only has room for 6 records, the album is in extraordinary shape - almost like new - but it´s not easy to get the records out of the sleeves, you can see that some of the paper sleeves have been broken at the top and later someone taped them. The only way to get the records out is by pushing them from the center... The smaller album, also for one-sided discs, is probably a bit older, but still in good shape - there is room for 12 records in it. There are albums for the regular size records too, with the same design, but I can´t find them right now, they look the same though and have room for 12 records.

I can only hope that you are correct. With due respect for those who are pursuing this AI project, I will do my best to avoid it.

I love stop-motion animation. Both of these shorts command attention. The truncated musical sections made me smile. 🙂 James

Thanks. That is very helpful. I will measure one I have access to.

Yes there were some late Rigid Arm Victors fitted with the Exhibition reproducer. But over the years I personally have only seen model E's with the Exhibition reproducer. Original Rigid Arm Concert and Exhibition reproducers are not interchangeable with the later tapered tonearm reproducer versions. The reproducer mounting holes on the original swing arm is 1" center to center. So original Rigid Arm reproducers are drilled 1" center to center. Later Concert and Exhibition reproducers that mount to a tapered tonearm are drilled 1 1/8" center to center. If the mounting holes are not 1" center to center you'll want to start looking to see why. Maybe a reproduction swing arm to accommodate the later reproducers. Larry C

I am a sceptic trying to keep an open mind about all this. But, I might suggest that showing AI inquires that are inaccurate because the model has yet to be trained could be seen as a reason to not trust it. The more wrong answers we collectors see the less trust will be gained. Maybe wait until it is a bit further along to show query results or something.

I have always believed that all rigid arm victors came with the smaller concert reproducer for a rigid arm. However, recently I have seen two rigid arm machines fitted for an exhibition reproducer. There is metal piece with the slot that allows the exhibition to connect attached to the arm. My question is was I correct that all rigid arm machines used the concert reproducer, or were some late ones fitted with an exhibition? If not correct i suppose someone modified the scissor arm to have the fitting for the exhibition. I'd love opinions and/or answers from many on this forum that are more knowledgeable than me. Thanks

There is certainly work to do on generalizations and assumptions. The differentiation between “original finish” and “over-done” will require some training effort for sure.