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Nice work, Rolfs! You two are the perfect ambassadors for this. George P.

Great job! You both are such an asset to our hobby and it's great that you offer your time to promote it, especially to the younger generations who will carry this hobby for years to come....passing on your accumulated knowledge so the information doesn't fade away to obscurity. Keep up the great work and thanks again for all that you do! Scott

I’m a sucker for fun labels and rarities so this record fit right in when I found it. It’s in near mint condition and sounds terrific.

What a terrific way to support a young enthusiast! Great job.

We have been mentoring Noah, who has attended the APS shows for the past two years. He is passionate about phonographs and enjoys their technology. He especially likes the history of Thomas Edison. He invited us to give a presentation on Edison and his inventions. To celebrate Edison’s birthday, we gave the presentation “Innovation and Invention”. Noah demonstrated his Edison phonograph to his 5th grade STEM class they made an Edison recording as each student shouted one of Edisons inventions into the phonograph horn. It was a grand success as students learned how 1,093 of Edison inventions changed their world. They learned “There’s Always a Way to do it Better….Find It”

Thanks for the compliments. I thought this was worthy of the effort to bring it back to life.

Wow, Ken! That turned out fantastic! Bravo! There was a lot more work involved in restoring that VI than you alluded to. Glad to see the end result.

I wouldnt hesitate to clean a record in this manner in any condition if it would potentially improve playback. I have cleaned records that did not appear dirty but had greying to the grooves that showed an appreciable improvement in fidelity by removing the ground-in grit lying deep within the grooves.

Should a record be washed only when it is real dirty or is it ok to do this to a rough feeling 78 that plays ok?

The St. Louis Tinfoil Recordings documented June 2019 issue of The Antique Phonograph included links to hear 3 versions of that tinfoil: St. Louis Tinfoil Giovannoni Restoration St. Louis Tinfoil LBL Recommended Playback Tinfoil Original Version

Thanks for posting those! I first encountered the Bernhardt sheet in 1998 or 1999 while doing research in the Benson Ford Research Center at the Ford Museum. I was going through various file folders that, in theory, could offer some useful information. In one of them I happened upon this sheet of foil. I was flabbergasted. It was a common manila folder. The foil was in two parts, each attached with tape to thin white cardboard. That was unceremoniously dumped into the folder along with an old sheet of paper explaining the presumed provenance. The sheet was literally crumbling, with tiny flakes of foil sitting in the bottom of the folder. I couldn't believe this rare artifact was being stored so carelessly. On the other hand, it allowed me to inspect it closely, including measuring its thickness with a micrometer I had with me. I wrote about it in my book published in 2001. When I returned to the Ford a couple of years later I decided to see it again. I knew exactly which folder it was in so I requested the appropriate box only to find that the folder was missing. There was no note or other indication to explain the gap in the filing. Later that day I ran into a curator I knew well and told her that it had gone missing. She said "oh, we moved it." It turned out that after they read my book they realized that this deserved proper care. They removed it (but failed to add a note as is normal custom) and took it to the conservation lab for stabilization. She went off into a storeroom and came out with the tray in your photo. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Nice! Thanks for posting!

Photos always make the topic more interesting, so here are photos of the Sarah Bernhardt tinfoil and one of Thomas Edison at the Ft. Myers Museum. For your enjoyment!!! James Manker

I'm rebuilding an Edison Recorder (not reproducer) and am looking for some advice on the gasket that goes between the body and the diaphragm. The original is cardboard and is in excellent condition. Reproduction gaskets I have located are made of black rubber. I'm feeling like I should reinstall the original. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Really outstanding job Ken!

I was able to get this Victor VI a number of months ago. It had a Victrola motor installed in it. The horn was probably from a PA system and soldered into the elbow. The previous owner also buffed most of the gold plating off most of the parts along with the back bracket decals. I decided it was worth it to bring back to life. I had the correct motor for it. The motor board had extra holes in it and the crank escutcheon hole was enlarged. It took a while to find but I used veneer off of a couple of donor cabinets and used it on the motor board and the side with the crank. I planed down the motor board on both sides the same thickness of the replacement veneer. I plugged the holes also. I also plugged the crank hole and re-drilled it for the correct size. A good friend restored the back bracket for me. And I was able to acquire some of the other parts that were pretty rough from another collector. It took a while but I think it turned out pretty well for a novice. The horn is a new mahogany horn I bought on the TMF a while back.

Awesome glass negatives/photos..these are a great window into the past and it is wonderful they are now in excellent hands to preserve them… thank you for sharing Alan (PhonoPhotoGuy)

Thanks for that addition. Is the front decal the large version covering the full panel?

Mine has a D reproducer, decal on the back is 1900, and the serial number is 712794. I have to say, for it's small size, it's the most ornate case ever made! In my opinion, Columbia cornered the market on stylish cases, but Edison had superior mechanical design.

Definitely looks like he could have been a gun slinger to me!

I see glass negatives as little windows to the past. They were present in the time & place, capturing a record of the scene. I always end up spending hours "pixel peeping" after I scan these things.

Those are wonderful. I love seeing store interiors. The overwhelming majority of early photos I see are street views. I have always yearned for a time machine to allow me to step into those mysterious doorways to get a glimpse of the treasures inside. These photos are the next best thing.

Nice images, Loran! There's nothing like glass negatives for resolution when enlarging! George P>

I picked up a couple of 8x10 glass negatives recently that are just full of phono-goodness! I'm pretty certain both were taken at the same store, which is possibly Hauschildt Music Co. in San Francisco. I've dated both to 1918 and they came out of the same collection of San Francisco building & business negatives. The first image appears to be the back room "shipping & receiving" station. This picture is full of goodies... posters still in mailers, Victor & Columbia record crates, a couple of machines in crates, and a box of Little Wonder records on the table. From the sales floor image, I think it's safe to say that table top machines were their bread & butter. Table tops are wrapped & stacked like cord wood on top of the record display cabinet on the upper right. I was really shocked to see a hornless Europa peeking out of its wrapping of the left side of that stack! I believe the fancy Columbia upright is a model 200. Loran