Dealer tags

[Tinfoilphono]

Melvind's post about an interesting dealer tag in a Victrola made me realize that a thread about dealer tags in general might be fun. I am a huge fan of such tags and decals. Here are some I have at the moment.

 

Here's a rigid arm Victor R with a Sherman-Clay metal tag (San Francisco):

 

 

A Columbia Type AN with one of the most interesting dealer tags I've ever seen:

 

 

Columbia Type A with a metal tag for Peter Bacigalupi of San Francisco, with his early address of 946 Market Street:

 

 

An Edison Standard with Polyphone attachment, with the more commonly found later Bacigalupi decal. Whoever mounted this one may have been hungover from the night before, as it's tilted rather than straight as is usual:

 

 

An early (serial #393) Edison Standard with a metal tag from Murray, Blanchard, Young & Co. of Boston. (I've seen one other Standard with the same tag, except that one was not nickel-plated.):

 

 

A Columbia Type B with a cabinet made by Hawthorne & Sheble, with a huge decal to make sure no one could miss it:

 

 

What have you got?

 

 

[alang]

I used to own this Victrola VI with Berliner Gram-0-phone tag from Montreal and the remnants of a Grinnel Bros. decal. Apparently, it was made by Victor in the USA and then sold by Berliner in Canada. Even the license tag at the bottom of the machine was pasted over with a Berliner notice.

[Django]

I only have a few dealer tags.  I like the Wurlitzer the best.  The pianos, talking machines, sewing machines and bicycles is kind of an interesting combination.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Django

[Fran604g]

I have a few items with dealer tags or decals.

 

An Edison Standard Model A sold by the Mackie Music Co., Rochester, NY, along with a record box, several pieces of ephemera, a violin (family heirloom) and 5-string banjo:

 

 

 

A Zon-O-Phone Parlor sold by the Universal Taking Machine Manufacturing Co.:

 

 

 

An Edisonic Schubert sold by Levis Music Co., Rochester, NY along with a trumpet and composition booklet (both family heirlooms), several DD and a couple Victor records, many pieces of ephemera including a letter written by Samuel Levis informing a client of opening his new store.  Previously he was a long time employee and sales manager of the Mackie Music Co.:

 

 

 

 

 

Next is my Graphophone Type N sold by the Chicago Talking Machine Co., though the decal is fairly rough to make out:

 

 

The queen of my collection, my Edison C 250 sold by Curt C. Andrus of No. Tonawanda, NY:

 

 

 

A Gramophone sold by Giegler Ferencz Esztergom, Hungary around the mid-late 1910s.

 

 

 

And finally, a Victor Talking Machine Co. horn shipping crate sent to the Anton Hospe Co. of Omaha, NE, who sold and shipped it to Dawn, MO client H.R. Bushnell:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by Fran604g
added another machine

[phonogfp]

Some very interesting and attractive dealer markings shown in this thread!

 

George P.

[melvind]

I have a few machines with tags and special decals. Here is my first I found at an estate sale in Portland about 20 years ago.

 

Here is a fun one on a Talk-O-Phone

 

And a Zonophone

 

A Victor R

 

Here is a nice dealer decal on the inside lid of my VTLA

 

And finally an decal over the bottom right portion of the original decal from Sears, Roebuck & Co.

[RobP62]

RACKLEY PIANO COMPANY 

Everything In Music

Goldsboro, N.C.

Dealer tag on my grandfather’s 1923 Brunswick Valencia

[Fran604g]

On 3/12/2023 at 2:08 PM, phonogfp said:

Some very interesting and attractive dealer markings shown in this thread!

 

George P.

You owe us yours now, George.😊

[phonogfp]

Well, I don't have some of the beauties already shown in this thread, but for what it's worth, here's what I have:

 

One of my favorite early companies is Hawthorne & Sheble, so it's only natural that I include this Hawthorne & Sheble decal on a January 1898 Home:

 

Here's a somewhat later (1898-99) Hawthorne & Sheble decal on an Eagle carrying case.  The interesting thing about this example is that it was never drilled for a mechanism - the Eagle sits unsecured in this particular case.  Other similar H&S cases have the mechanisms bolted in slightly varying positions.  This suggests that these H&S cases were sold undrilled and that the mechanisms were installed either by the owners or dealers:

 

Another of my favorite dealers is the Chicago Talking Machine Company.  Often confused with the slightly later Talking Machine Company of Chicago, the CTMCo. ceased business on August 1, 1897.  Here's a CTMCo. decal on a Type N Graphophone:

 

Here's another one in better condition on a slightly later Type A Graphophone:

 

The CTMCo. briefly offered a powerful 3-mainspring motor made primarily of aluminum.  The company proudly stenciled its name on the bedplate (I only wish they had made it easier to see):

 

Some of you may know that I'm attracted to Eagle Graphophones.  Here are a few with dealer markings on them:

 

 

Note that in the two previous examples, the retailers left the American Graphophone data plate in place, but removed the Columbia tag from the front of the base.  Spear & Co. went one better, removing all mention of any companies but theirs!

 

You can see the four holes where the brads once held the American Graphophone data plate:

 

More Eagles...

 

 

Here's how Sears, Roebuck, & Co. marked its Type A Graphophones in 1900:

 

The short-lived ink stamped decal was soon replaced by a paper sticker on the cabinet decal, as on this Eagle:

 

The same treatment on a Type Q:

 

Here's an unusually large dealer decal on the back of a Model B Home:

 

This isn't a dealer marking, but it's a pretty nice provenance nonetheless:

 

This Graphophone Lab plate is on an early Columbia Commercial Graphophone (pre-Dictaphone) dating from 1907-early 1908:

 

 

[Fran604g]

Thanks, George! It's always a pleasure seeing the variety of your items. 

[phonogfp]

Thanks, Fran.

I trust that age doth not wither, nor custom stale my infinite variety!  😏

 

George P.

[Tinfoilphono]

Some seriously great tags, there, George! Years ago I had a coin-op Graphophone Type S (AS) with the same Spear tag.

 

I agree that the H&S Eagle cabinets were likely sold without the machine being mounted by them or a dealer. Mine is mounted facing forward, and the lid fits easily over it. I know of another which is mounted facing the rear, and far enough to the side that the winding key has to be removed to allow room for the lid to be placed.

[phonogfp]

32 minutes ago, Tinfoilphono said:

Some seriously great tags, there, George! Years ago I had a coin-op Graphophone Type S (AS) with the same Spear tag.

 

 

Wow - an AS with a Spear tag!  The metal one or the decal?

 

[BenL]

On 3/14/2023 at 9:23 PM, RobP62 said:

RACKLEY PIANO COMPANY 

Everything In Music

Goldsboro, N.C.

Love seeing southern dealer tags! Not indenting to sound corrective, the Valencia was made more around 1928. (The 1923 on the horn is a patent date and not a manufacturing date.) 

[Tinfoilphono]

16 hours ago, phonogfp said:

 

Wow - an AS with a Spear tag!  The metal one or the decal?

 

The metal tag. I bought the machine from Wendell Moore many years ago at the Orlando show. Very nice machine, but it eventually moved on to another collection.

[Valecnik]

Fascinating thread.  A dealer tag certainly adds a lot of interest to any machine.  I've only got three machines with dealer tags.  I'll have to get them up here when I have a bit more time.

 

I've been to Ezstergom by the way.  

[Fran604g]

42 minutes ago, Valecnik said:

I've been to Ezstergom by the way.  

I recall discussing the machine with you at one time, I think. We really like it. It's somewhat unique not only because of the stunning green Peacock horn but, especially because of the ornamental features of the cabinet. Just yesterday our son Andrew, out of the blue, told me it was his favorite of our collection.  I knew Sharon is very fond of it, but Andrew surprises me.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Fran604g
Sp.

[phonogfp]

Here's an older thread on the same subject (dealer tags) which should be included:

 

 

[Tinfoilphono]

Thanks, George. I had forgotten about that one or I would have simply added to it!

[phonogfp]

I had forgotten it too, Rene!

 

This site has grown a lot in less than 3 years!

[Andersun]

Two suitcase Homes......

 

 

 

 

[phonogfp]

Nice Homes, Steve!

 

George P.

[Tinfoilphono]

"National Fire Alarm Company" -- such a great name for a phonograph dealer! I love it.

[CurtA]

10 hours ago, Tinfoilphono said:

"National Fire Alarm Company" -- such a great name for a phonograph dealer! I love it.

The main dealer for stirling motor PAILLARD "MAESTROPHONE" No. 205 machines...

[outune]

I'm late to the party-- but here are two dealer tags that I think are pretty nice-

Brad Abell

 

1)  Fireside Model "A"

 

 

2) Circassian Walnut VE-XVIII