RodPickett Posted January 1 Posted January 1 A photo on Julien Anton’s website https://www.phonorama.fr/le-shah.html of The Shah presenting the Multiplex Grand and its cylinder’s transported to the Golestan Palace (circa 1900) in Tehran, has been AI enhanced. The beer-keg-like canisters, approximately 7 inches in diameter and 14 inches in length, contain the Multiplex Grand cylinders. The entire outfit was transported to the Palace by camel-caravan. A photo of that caravan exists somewhere, that I have not yet been able to locate. 2
Valecnik Posted January 1 Posted January 1 Thanks very much for posting Rod. I've never seen the picture before. What an outfit! Amazing! Happy New Year!
phonogfp Posted January 1 Posted January 1 What an interesting image of a legendary Graphophone! Thanks for posting it, Rod. George P.
Tinfoilphono Posted January 1 Posted January 1 (edited) Great photo, thanks for posting it. It reminded me of a long exchange of emails I had with a German collector, Rolf Kramer, almost exactly a year ago. He owns an incomplete 1900 Multiplex Grand as well as a prototype, both from Charley Hummel's collection. He has done extensive restoration on both. I don't remember seeing them at Charley's but both have ID plates indicating they were from Columbia's own archives, as displayed in St. Louis in 1904, and from which Charley had many rarities. Rolf opened a phonograph museum in Germany last summer. His Multiplex does not have the 3-reproducer carriage. He owns the 1904 carriage, formerly in Allen Koenigsberg's collection, but it doesn't fit the 1900 version. This post prompted me to check in with Rolf again this morning. Things are moving along with his collection and museum, and he forwarded this link to see pictures and details on the Multiplex Grand: https://hub.catalogit.app/edisonium/folder/graphophone-laboroties/entry/graphophone-multiplex-grand-1900-model I recommend clicking on this link to see the rest of the amazing collection, including a Bergmann Exhibition tinfoil from Charley's collection: https://hub.catalogit.app/edisonium/folder Edited January 1 by Tinfoilphono 1
Fran604g Posted Sunday at 01:21 PM Posted Sunday at 01:21 PM (edited) So, would the 3 AW reproducers/soundboxes be "plummed" into one horn or three separate horns? Is there any photo of the horn(s) that survives? Addendum: @phonogfp wouldn't your "cloverleaf" look stunning and perhaps even appropriate on the Multiplex Grand? Edited Sunday at 01:25 PM by Fran604g
phonogfp Posted Sunday at 01:43 PM Posted Sunday at 01:43 PM Fran, The MG could be used with either a single reproducer/horn to play a recording nearly 10 minutes in duration, or with three reproducers/horns to play honest-to-goodness stereo recordings. Really something for 1900!
Fran604g Posted Sunday at 01:46 PM Posted Sunday at 01:46 PM 1 minute ago, phonogfp said: Fran, The MG could be used with either a single reproducer/horn to play a recording nearly 10 minutes in duration, or with three reproducers/horns to play honest-to-goodness stereo recordings. Really something for 1900! Well I'll be darned! How about that?
RodPickett Posted Sunday at 01:58 PM Author Posted Sunday at 01:58 PM Fran, a sub-link https://www.phonorama.fr/les-cylindres-geants.html on Julien's site https://www.phonorama.fr/le-shah.html has some additional photos from 1904, posted here original and AI enhanced. You should know however that George's cloverleaf (wouldn't your "cloverleaf" look stunning and perhaps even appropriate on the Multiplex Grand?) is a sore-point with me. I should have bought that when I had the chance, but walked-away😆 You snooze you lose. The Multiplex Grand in 1904 in the entrance of the Columbia Pavilion at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Multiplex Grand, equipped with three reproducers and three horns, was presented in St. Louis in 1904. 1
Fran604g Posted Sunday at 02:05 PM Posted Sunday at 02:05 PM Thanks, Rod and George! I'd forgotten I've seen some of the images you both share. I just this morning had one of those "sparks" explode in my head when I realized the MG could possibly explain the origin of George's cloverleaf. I also remembered what it looked like before it was restored, and it occurs to me now that it could possibly (most likely) be as rare as the MG.
phonogfp Posted Sunday at 06:12 PM Posted Sunday at 06:12 PM 11 hours ago, RodPickett said: You should know however that George's cloverleaf (wouldn't your "cloverleaf" look stunning and perhaps even appropriate on the Multiplex Grand?) is a sore-point with me. I should have bought that when I had the chance, but walked-away😆 You snooze you lose. Gee Rod - I guess I owe you a vote of thanks for your reluctance to buy it! It's one of my favorite things in the collection. And Fran, I owe you and Nate thanks for convincing me to mount the Cloverleaf on the GG. I truly didn't want to gild the lily, but once you held it in place, I was convinced. (By the way, you're right. As of now, no other Cloverleaf horn is known to exist.)
Tinfoilphono Posted Sunday at 06:23 PM Posted Sunday at 06:23 PM I very, very, very seriously considered buying that horn at Union..... I spent a ridiculous amount of time admiring it. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't imagine any place in this house where I could possibly display such a huge thing. I would have LOVED to mount it to my own GG, but the only option would have been to remove the dining table, and somehow I didn't think that proposal would pass muster with my wife. *sigh* It is an amazing artifact, and I'd love to hear a crisp, clear Grand cylinder playing through it. Must be impressive!
phonogfp Posted Sunday at 07:14 PM Posted Sunday at 07:14 PM It appears that there were at least THREE models of the Multiplex Grand. The specifications in Columbia literature vary, and this picture (on Rolf Kramer's website show an MG sitting to the left of an AD. Look at the length of the mandrel. The cabinet differs from the 1904 machine pictured in Chew and at the Columbia display in St. Louis. Also, the existing machine has a mandrel about 10.5 inches long, but 14-inch records were reportedly supplied for at least some of the MGs. This has turned into a most interesting thread! George P.
phonogfp Posted Sunday at 07:36 PM Posted Sunday at 07:36 PM Rather than hijacking this thread on the Multiplex Grand, there is now a separate thread on the Clover Leaf Horn: I cordially invite Rod and Rene to comment on the new thread!
RodPickett Posted Sunday at 07:37 PM Author Posted Sunday at 07:37 PM Yes, and the 14 inch, triple-track cylinders had the 3-reproducers spaced 4 inches (3.99) apart.
phonogfp Posted yesterday at 11:39 AM Posted yesterday at 11:39 AM The fact that Charley had a couple of different Multiplex mechanisms from the Columbia archives suggests that the company could/would supply the buyer with whatever he wanted - - for a price! George P.
RodPickett Posted yesterday at 01:28 PM Author Posted yesterday at 01:28 PM 1 hour ago, phonogfp said: The fact that Charley had a couple of different Multiplex mechanisms from the Columbia archives suggests that the company could/would supply the buyer with whatever he wanted - - for a price! Perhaps this was true for the cylinders as well. The restored cylinder Charley had was the correct diameter, nearly 7 inches, but only 9 inches in length, not 14 - "The Old Oaken Bucket". I believe it was a single-track, not multiple, but not really sure. If my information is incorrect, apologies.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now