Columbia Type B "Eagle"

[phonogfp]

...But the Mobley diaphragm remains!

 

George P.

[NateO]

I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd add a few photos of my lonely Eagle here as well. Every time I see a thread like this, I'm tempted to buy myself an entire flock of Eagles! They really are a wonderful machine, and certainly were revolutionary in the development of the talking machine industry. For something so small, these little Eagles sure gave the original purchaser a lot of bang for their buck!

We've seen examples of the caseless Eagle in this thread that have been cased by various retailers and owners, but this example remains as it was sold. After over 120 years of being completely exposed to the elements, this example is a bit worn, but is a machine I've always been proud to own. I was honored to contribute a short article for the September 2020 issue of The Antique Phonograph, regarding the history of this particular Eagle. 

[phonogfp]

Thanks for showing your uncased Eagle, Nate.  I realized that my photos of the uncased serial numbers don't do justice to unusual appearance of the $10 version.  These uncased examples are scarcely found.

 

I found Nate's article on this particular example to be fascinating and entertaining.  It's a rare thing to know who was the original owner of antique phonograph, including birth and death dates, and details of an adventurous life - - into his 80s!  It brings to the machine a reflection of the human qualities its owner possessed.  Nate is talented writer and researcher, and I hope to see more of his articles in the future. 

 

Nate, as I recall this is a rather early production Eagle, isn't it?

 

George P.

[NateO]

33 minutes ago, phonogfp said:

Thanks for showing your uncased Eagle, Nate.  I realized that my photos of the uncased serial numbers don't do justice to unusual appearance of the $10 version.  These uncased examples are scarcely found.

 

I found Nate's article on this particular example to be fascinating and entertaining.  It's a rare thing to know who was the original owner of antique phonograph, including birth and death dates, and details of an adventurous life - - into his 80s!  It brings to the machine a reflection of the human qualities its owner possessed.  Nate is talented writer and researcher, and I hope to see more of his articles in the future. 

 

Nate, as I recall this is a rather early production Eagle, isn't it?

 

George P.

Thanks for the kind words George!

 

This is a fairly early Eagle, the serial number is 87480. I've always assumed it was produced in 1897, but that's just a guess on my part. 

 

I can easily see why so many of these originally caseless Eagles were placed in cases. Frankly, this thing is a pain to dust, so I've been keeping it in a glass display case intended for a football. The extra expense for the cased Eagle was really a wise investment for the original purchaser. 

 

Nate

[phonogfp]

1 hour ago, NateO said:

This is a fairly early Eagle, the serial number is 87480. I've always assumed it was produced in 1897, but that's just a guess on my part. 

 

 

Since Eagle production began in the summer of 1897, and approximately 65,000 of them were built in a year, I think it's safe to presume that the 7480th example was built within the first 5 months of production in 1897.

 

I keep my caseless Eagle in a glass display case too.  It makes it difficult to access, but it stays clean!

 

George P.

[Filerphono]

Since I’m a huge fan of the Eagle I’m enjoying this thread. I have owned dozens of them and currently with an early caseless, 80,xxx and late BX, 426,9xx and a super BXP somewhere in between. My BX has not only the small banner decal on the front of the lid but also a small round decal on the back of the lid referencing the St Louis 1904 Expo.  Does anyone know when this decal started / ended? 
thanks, Joe Filer

 

[phonogfp]

1 hour ago, Filerphono said:

 My BX has not only the small banner decal on the front of the lid but also a small round decal on the back of the lid referencing the St Louis 1904 Expo.  Does anyone know when this decal started / ended? 
thanks, Joe Filer

 

Joe,

 

My database indicates that the 1904 St. Louis decal appeared on the back of the lid between No.425223 and No.426624.  A 1906 Milan decal appeared on the back of the lid between No.428484 and No.428504. 

 

An earlier 1900 Paris decal (which was indeed round) appeared sometime between No.415983 and No.420168.

 

George P.

[Filerphono]

Thanks, George but my serial number doesn’t fit in the slot you provided.  This appears to be an all original and correct machine. The finish on the lid and base are fully matched and original.  Nickel finish is 100% correct and exc. Its pretty much as I found it many years ago.  As you can see it’s very nice but could be improved  with some detailing work. I like the way it presents itself believing it’s as original as it is. 

This serial number (mis) alignment is the part of the hobby that makes me crazy but makes it fun in some sick way. Thanks again for sharing your data.
Joe 

 

[phonogfp]

3 hours ago, Filerphono said:

Thanks, George but my serial number doesn’t fit in the slot you provided. 

 

Joe,

 

I'm wondering if my previous post isn't a bit confusing.  Let me slightly rephrase it:

 

My database indicates that the 1904 St. Louis decal BEGAN APPEARING on the back of the lid somewhere between No.425223 and No.426624.  The 1904 St. Louis decal has been found so far on Eagles numbered between 426624 and 428484.  A 1906 Milan decal FIRST appeared on the back of the lid somewhere between No.428484 and No.428504, and was used to the end of Eagle production. 

 

Joe, if your Eagle's serial number does not fall between 426624 and 428484, I'd be grateful if you'd share the number with me so I can add it to the database.  Thanks - - 

 

George P.

[phonogfp]

Joe,

 

I just saw on your first post that you indicated your BX's number as being 4269xx, which fits into the range above for the BX.  

 

Note that the banner decal on yours does not include the "Made in USA" notation found on the last BX lids (as seen on the BX No.4292xx  posted on page 1 of this thread). 

 

George P.

[Lioret]

I have an example with  the Ohio Graphophone, Columbus, Ohio Decal.

 

 

 

It has a large cone horn stenciled with Ohio Graphophone, Columbus, Ohio.   The horn is displayed on a Hoop crane.  

 

 

 

 

 

Great Thread !!  

Gregg

 

 

[phonogfp]

Another Ohio Graphophone Eagle! 

 

The one on the first page of this thread is No.86326.  Is yours close to that, Gregg?

 

I'm crazy about the stencil on that horn.  Wonderful combination - -

 

Thanks for posting this outfit!

 

George P.

[RodPickett]

KILLER EXAMPLE!

[Tinfoilphono]

Definitely one of the coolest Eagles I've ever seen. The horn puts it over the top!

[AudioAntique]

Here is  another Type B "New Parlor" sold on the decorative cast iron base.

Rob

 

 

[Phonohound]

Great examples by everyone.  It's impressive how even a simple machine like the Eagle "B", can have so many variations and "improvements."  I'd like to add 3 from my collection:

 

#1 - Eastern Talking Machine Eagle with Bettini attachment, original box, and Eastern Talking Machine cylinder record with box - Serial #94447

#2 - Early Eagle #65 from the 80000 block.  Serial #80065.  The interesting thing about this model is the board is essentially unfinished, with so sign of restoration.

#3 - Modified caseless Eagle used for exhibition purposes.  This is a fascinating piece to me.  There is a homemade crank, crane and horn, along with a box that contains compartments which house all components and cylinder records.  There is also a hinged flat board that is used as the table to set this Graphopone on while demonstating to a crowd.  There are also ads pasted to the cabinet.  I'm not sure if the Bettini ad was placed by the original owner at a later time, but that is from 1900, which means this set up could have been used for several years.  The serial # is 125469.

[Edisonic]

Hi All,

Here are photos of an interesting Eagle in my collection.  It is serial number 96137, and was sold by the Eastern Talking Machine Co. (tag attached).  What is most bizarre is that the lid decal was oddly applied upside down!    

- Justin

[Tinfoilphono]

Wonderful!!

[Lioret]

George,

My example has a SN of 91977....

[phonogfp]

I just corresponded with the owner of another Eagle whose decal was applied upside-down.  Its serial number is up in the 133,000-range, so this probably wasn't the result of a disgruntled employee, but more likely an occasional new decal placed upside-down in a pile waiting to be applied, or similar screw-up.  This couldn't have happened often!

[phonogfp]

2 hours ago, Lioret said:

George,

My example has a SN of 91977....

 

I have yet to see an Eastern TMCo. Eagle with a number above 100,000, so the theory of "early, short-term activity" seems to be holding true.

[Analogous]

All,

 

From the quantity of machines and boxes that still show up tagged ETMCo, it's clear the company  was a a very active retailer.  Significantly, they seem to have "stuck to their knitting," unlike others that ventured off into  pursuits like record and accessory production (e.g., H&S, Bacigalupi).

 

Has anyone researched when they folded?  That would likely align with the serial number range George notes.

 

HNY to all!

 

John

[melvind]

Happy New Year Everyone! Here is my contribution to this thrillingly thorough thread!

Edited December 31, 2020 by melvind

[phono-phan]

Thanks for sharing all this great information on the Eagles.  Very interesting!!!!

[phonogfp]

The Antique Phonograph Society was contacted today by Alan, the owner of this tintype.  His questions were answered, and when asked if we could post the image on this thread, he very kindly gave permission.  We thank Alan, and we hope he might become a member of this forum!

 

Here is Alan's tintype (does anyone else have a contemporary image of an Eagle they'd like to share here?):