Informations about my Graphophone (American Graphophone Factory ‚Type AT‘ requested

[DaveGermany]

Hello i am Dave from Germany and many years ago my parents got this Graphophone as a present from an old colleague of my father (he was a doctor in a hospital). So now i have this beautiful piece of history but as you can see are parts missing and i am not an expert at all. I wanted to ask you for more informations about it and the worth and of it is difficult to restore it. Maybe i will sell it but it is better to know what you are selling than think that you know it. Thank you very much for your support. Greetings from Bavaria. David

[phonogfp]

Hello Dave, and welcome to the APS Forum!

 

Your AT Graphophone was manufactured in 1899-1900, and during that time the company was beginning to use pot metal in some components.  Among these was the upper casting (the large black painted casting that holds all the nickel-plated parts in alignment).  From your  pictures, I fear you may have one of these pot metal castings.  If you can post a picture from the side with the exposed gears, we can confirm that.  You may notice that the teeth of those gears no longer engage.  I hope I'm wrong.

 

There are other questions too - mostly regarding whether the carriage (definitely made of pot metal on your example) slides back and forth on the rod in front, and whether the lift lever on the carriage can be moved up and down. 

 

Please report back, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

George P.

[DaveGermany]

Hello George

 

thank you for your fast reply and your warm welcome. I try to answer your questions despite it is not easy for me to get all these technical terms because english is not my mother tongue. I hope that my pictures will help. 
1. Sadly you are right but the teeth of the gears do not engage anymore.

2. I am not sure what the carriage is but if it is the leverage it is working. 
3. I think the lift lever is trapped if it is the the one on picture number 5 on the bottom.

I hope the pictures and the two videos will help. 
Thank you very much. Bye David

 

 

 

[phonogfp]

Dave,

 

I was afraid of this.  The upper casting of this AT has swollen, and the carriage (the part with the lever in picture #5) is also suffering from swollen pot metal.  Thankfully, American Graphophone didn't manufacture a large number of these machines with pot metal castings (although a great many were manufactured with pot metal carriages).  Unfortunately, it will be impossible to restore the upper casting, and the carriage is doubtful as well, due to the extent of the damage.

 

You may be able to find a good casting and carriage - or possibly the entire upper works for your AT.  I wish you the best of luck!

 

George P.

[DaveGermany]

Hi George

 

thanks a lot for your help and probably it won‘t be easy to sell it than right? Do you have an idea how much it is still worth. I am not that much into that special part of music history and machines and think about selling it to someone who will value it. Stay healthy and strong in that sureal times. Bye David

[phonogfp]

David,

You have a nice cabinet, lid, motor plate and motor, so someone would certainly be interested in it for parts.  As for value, I could hazard a guess in Germany.  Here in the US, you could probably get an offer of $150-$200 as it sits.  Someone who wants to upgrade their AT's cabinet & lid might pay more.

 

I'm sorry the news was not encouraging, but I wish you the best of luck selling it.  You can post it here on the APS Forum in the "Classifieds."

 

George P.

[DaveGermany]

Hey George

 

thank‘s a lot and i really appreciate your fast and helpful support! Maybe someone in that community will write me if he or she is interested to buy it because i am not sure if i could describe and offer it in a correct way. Thank you and best wishes from Nuremberg. David

Edited May 3, 2021 by DaveGermany