Is this the biggest phonograph mystery ever?

[CurtA]

What happened to these fantastic cement phonographs?  Are they still in existence somewhere?  Were they destroyed and do we have proof of that?

 

[xian]

I found this one. It looks very similar to the one in the first picture but I'm not sure if it's authentic. 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by xian

[phonogfp]

I've read somewhere (Frow?  Dethlefson?) that examples of the Edison cement cabinets exist at the Henry Ford in Dearborn.

 

George P.

[Henry]

 

They were designed to play rock music....

[CurtA]

12 hours ago, xian said:

I found this one. It looks very similar to the one in the first picture but I'm not sure if it's authentic. 

 

 

It looks exactly like the one in the picture.  Where did you find it?

[CurtA]

Strangely, I found another similar cement phono-goddess in the Gu-Le-Lou Gramophone Museum In China. 

https://uk.trip.com/review/gu-le-lou-gramophone-museum-18257338-1662480 

How did they end up there?  Are the Chinese making duplicates?

 

 

[xian]

Just now, CurtA said:

Strangely, I found another similar cement phono-goddess in the Gu-Le-Lou Gramophone Museum In China. 

https://uk.trip.com/review/gu-le-lou-gramophone-museum-18257338-1662480 

How did they end up there?  Are the Chinese making duplicates?

 

 

Yep. That's the same one I found. However, I'm not sure of its authenticity. I have a feeling that this is a duplicate because the craftsmanship of this machine isn't as good as the one in your photo if you look closely.  The museum was founded by a family that has collected antique phonographs for three generations in China. I checked their photos. Most of their collections are authentic, but I did notice a few crapophones scattered here and there. 

[CurtA]

Xian, do you have a way to contact that museum to find out who makes the copies? 

[xian]

On 5/30/2023 at 11:08 PM, CurtA said:

Xian, do you have a way to contact that museum to find out who makes the copies? 

They listed two phone numbers, but no one answered the phone when I called them. I also sent them a message to their Chinese social media account, but they last updated it two years ago.. Looks like they are doing fine though. I saw some tourists posting videos about the museum just a few days ago. 

[CurtA]

Thanks for checking...

[CurtA]

It would be interesting to find out the source for these replicas and also what material they are made of.  If they are made of cement like the original, I can't imagine how much they weigh or how you would move them without a forklift...  It wouldn't be too bad to have one made of epoxy coated structural styrofoam.