Edison Phonograph Questions

[trincard]

Hello all,

My Dad passed on to me an Edison Phonograph, and I am trying to determine the model as well as find a key to open the bottom door.  Also wondering if there is anyone around that does professional cleaning of such a great antique item and what it’s potential value may be.  
 

My Dad told me that when he and his parents lived on 40th Street in Irvington, they lived across the street from a man by the name of I believe George Mulelet who used to work with Thomas Edison and had a lot of antiques at his home.  When Dad was about 10 years old (circa 1953) he was at Mr. Mulelet’s house and Mr. Mulelet told my Dad to pick out one item in his house that he wanted.  My Dad chose the Edison Phonograph.  

 

It is in a piece of wooden furniture made by The White Furniture Company out of Mebane, NC.  It has a medallion that says it is a “Diamond Blue Official Laboratory Model” and also has a Thomas A Edison Trademark.  It came with a record labelled “Let Us Not Forget – A Message To The American People by Thomas A. Edison” with the Edison Trademark and I believe these two smaller records came with it as well: Little Wonder Record’s No. 1218 “Tell Me (Fox-trot)” by Dance Music Orchestra and Little Wonder Record’s No. 1137 “Mammy O’ Mine” by the Vocal Quartette.  

 

Attached please find pictures of the Edison Phonograph.  Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

[phonogfp]

Your machine is an Edison Disc Phonograph Model C19.  If you look at the left side of the playing compartment you should see a metal plate with the model designation and serial number.  By using the serial number you can determine when it was manufactured using this free article on the APS website:

 

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/collectiondetails/61

 

The medallion labeling the machine as a "Diamond Disc Official Laboratory Model" was affixed to machines using the largest size horn and a two-mainspring motor.  The C19 (and its earlier designation as a C250) was a very popular machine in its day.  Many survive, and there's nothing on it that can't be repaired or replaced.

 

That said, the record of Edison speaking Let Us Not Forget is valuable (around $100) and should not be played until you are certain your machine's diamond stylus is in good shape.  Edison Disc Phonographs in their original configuration play ONLY Edison Records.  The Little Wonder records cannot be played on it.

 

You may find another of the free APS articles helpful:

 

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/collectiondetails/16

 

The lower door conceals the record storage compartment.  It may indeed be locked, which can be determined by directing a strong light along the door's edge where the lock is located.  If it's indeed locked, you can probably locate a key here (post a "Wanted" item) or on eBay.  It may be - depending on the machine's past storage conditions - that the door has swelled and is simply stuck.  There's a ball catch on those doors that can be particularly stiff.  In any event, gentle but firm manipulation may be successful if the door is unlocked.

 

Finally, value can be determined by yet another free article on the APS website by clicking the "Price Guide" button below the "Introductory Articles" tab near the top of  the APS Home page:

 

https://www.antiquephono.org/#/

 

Good luck!

 

George P.

[Jerry]

The only small bit I can add to George's fine advice, is that the speaker grill is installed upside down.🙂