This is probably the rarest machine I have ever owned:

MODEL:  Tinfoil
SERIAL #:   None
YEARS MADE:   circa 1878
COST:   unknown
CASE/CABINET SIZE:  13" x 10"
TURNTABLE:   ---
REPRODUCER:   combination recorder/reproducer
MOTOR:   hand-powered
HORN DIMENSIONS:   none
REPRODUCTION PARTS:   none
CURRENT VALUE:   Anyone's guess
INTERESTING FACTS :  

This early tinfoil phonograph was first discovered by Oliver Read sometime in the 1930s in the northeastern United States. Read is best known as the co-author (with Walter Welch) of the seminal book "From Tinfoil to Stereo," first published in 1959. Unfortunately nothing is known about its maker. It was evidently made in the US, in violation of Edison's patents, as is evident from the non-metric hardware. The metal castings are very ornate and quite complicated, which would lead me to believe that more than one would have been produced in order to amortize the foundry costs, but no others are reported to survive. The machine is illustrated on page 21 of the early editions of "From Tinfoil to Stereo." Read's caption suggests it was made by "an independent maker in New Jersey" but he offers no evidence for the assertion.

Read kept the machine in his collection until the late 1970s or early 1980s, when he sold it (along with several other phonographs) to the late collector Allen Koenigsberg. I acquired it from Allen about 20 years ago.

In addition to highly ornate castings, the wooden base has elaborate carvings, some highlighted with gilt, and inlaid marquetry. There is a small hidden drawer in the back to hold spare stylii and other supplies. 

I first saw this machine on Christmas day, 1962, when my parents gave me a copy of FTTS. I was enchanted, but I could never have imagined that several decades later it would highlight my own collection.

MODEL:  
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TURNTABLE:   
REPRODUCER:   
MOTOR:   
HORN DIMENSIONS:   
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CURRENT VALUE:   
INTERESTING FACTS :