The Wonderful World of Columbia Grand Graphophones

[phonogfp]

Much has been written about Columbia's five-inch Grand Graphophones and records.  None of that will be repeated here, because this post is meant solely as a photographic appreciation of the genre.  For those who are interested in learning more about the Columbia Grand Graphophones (including models not shown here), I suggest the articles co-authored by Chuck Azzalina and myself in the September 2025 and March 2026 issues of the Antique Phonograph Society magazine.

 

 

To start off, here's something few collectors have ever seen, and it has never been shown in any book or article as far as I know.  Experienced collectors are familiar with the record boxes which housed Columbia's Grand Records (see magazine cover above).  Here's a close-up showing the conventional early-style box and lid instructions:

 

 

 

However, there was another contemporary container for Columbia Grand Records that is very seldom seen.  It was described in what was probably Columbia's first brochure and record list for the Graphophone Grand and its five-dollar Grand Records.  Look at the fifty-cent item in the Price-List of Parts and Supplies below:

 

 

The "Tin Single-Cylinder Case, with Felt Protection" evidently did not appeal to many customers in 1899, because I've been reliably informed that there are possibly two of these known.  Here's one of them:

 

 

 

 

For the balance of this post, I'll let the pictures do the talking, and hopefully they will inspire some to see beyond the nuts-and-bolts of these fascinating machines.  (Try not to draw comparisons with the Edison Concert Phonograph.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tinfoilphono]

Wonderful array of pictures and period advertisements!

 

I love Columbia Grands. From the cheapest AB to the lofty GG they all have great presence.