Wing & Son -- "The Concert Phonograph"

[W_Higgins]

Greetings.  Recently I stumbled across this phonograph and had to have it.  I already have a Wing & Son piano and was unaware they made anything other than pianos.  When I set out to learn more about it, it was quickly apparent that there is very little information on them (if any at all -- still looking).  I stumbled across the "Off Brand" list on this site and Wing was not listed.  It is now and George, who was kind enough to reply to me rather promptly, encouraged me to post on your forum.

 

In various places online I have found examples of three other units (all classified ads or ended auction listings).  All of them are different, two of them smaller, and one of them comparable both in size and quality, but still different from mine.  Two of the others have the data plate like mine, but one has a decal like the one on my piano.  Given when the company was formed, the brass data plate would date those machines as no earlier than 1918.  The motor is a Heineman, I believe a #77.  

 

What is most interesting about the lack of information is that Wing was known for their excellent catalogs.  They used a different marketing approach than other piano manufacturers of the time in that they didn't have demo models in stores.  They did everything mail order and instead made beautiful catalogs and books since the buyer could not go see one in person.  I have one for my piano (1910) and I found another scanned in online from 1918 and so far I have not been able to find anything about them selling phonographs.  I've even looked on Newspapers.com for ads and no luck yet.  

 

At any rate, I love it!  The springs are slipping in the drums and I'd like to find somewhere to send off the motor if anyone has a suggestion for someone good with Heineman (I'm in south-central PA should there be someone in this general area).  After cleaning and oiling it will run long enough to get through a record and it sounds very nice.  It's complete and the automatic brake works.  Just needs some touchup and other minor improvements, but I'd like to leave as much of the original finish as possible.

 

Looking forward to seeing if there are any other Wings waiting in the wings!

 

 

-Walter

 

[BenL]

Welcome to the forum W_Higgins, I have a big soft spot for piano company phonographs and always enjoy seeing them!  The piano industry jumped head first into the phonograph market when the major patents expired. Aeolian, Kimball and Starr were the biggest but a lot of minor companies like Steger & Sons, Bush & Lane, Cable-Nelson among many others made their own. 

Wing & Son likely made the cabinet but went to Heineman the major supplier company for the motor/tonearm.

(I love the after market ready file record storage.) 

Edited November 29, 2021 by BenL

[W_Higgins]

12 hours ago, BenL said:

Wing & Son likely made the cabinet but went to Heineman the major supplier company for the motor/tonearm.

(I love the after market ready file record storage.) 

 

 

Thanks for the welcome.  I agree that Wing likely made the cabinet since they were well-tooled to do so vs. some others that simply outsourced making their pianos and merely slapped a label on them.

 

I also believe you are correct about the tonearm being Heineman.  It looks identical to what I found in a catalog.  I'm guessing in a case like this that motors and arms were paired so that you were essentially buying a hardware kit?  How about the automatic brake -- is that also Heineman or yet another supplier?  I didn't run across that in the catalogs I saw.

 

Thank you for the Ready-File ad.  That is one I hadn't yet got around to researching.  Do you think manufacturers spec'ed out their cabinet with the addition of those in mind?  I thought it curious how everything was just the right size and spacing to accommodate them but figured they were aftermarket. 

[BenL]

10 hours ago, W_Higgins said:

 

 How about the automatic brake -- is that also Heineman or yet another supplier?  I didn't run across that in the catalogs I saw.

 

Do you think manufacturers spec'ed out their cabinet with the addition of those in mind?  I thought it curious how everything was just the right size and spacing to accommodate them but figured they were aftermarket. 

 

 

The brake was made by the Kirkman Co. though you could get them just like any other supplier part. The ready file record storage could be bought by the company as an additional  accessory or the consumer, so it's hard to know. 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by BenL

[audiophile102]

Unfortunately, I can't contribute any insights into your Concert.  I had to comment anyway, because the quality of the cabinet is really outstanding and quite beautiful.  With the piano they make a great pair.  Congratulations and I hope if you find more from your research you will post it here.

[W_Higgins]

 

Thanks for the brake ad.  You really know your stuff!

 

Audio, thanks for your comments regarding the cabinet.  While I like phonographs, I'm not well-studied in them and wasn't sure how the woodwork ranked compared to others.  That was Wing's other marketing angle.  They took the money they saved by not having to fund a dealer network and put more resources into making beautiful cabinets, so they almost certainly did the same with their phonographs.

 

Below are photos of the other three that I have found when searching online.  I'd love to hear any kind of insight regarding those.  The first two seem small and I would say the third is comparable to mine, maybe even another rung higher as far as how ornate it is.  Still no success with locating any kind of advertising.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by W_Higgins

[Fran604g]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations of your very handsome phonograph!

 

Fran

[W_Higgins]

Thanks.  I've enjoyed reading the great archive of knowledge here.

 

As I run across more Wing's (or if I eventually find any Wing literature) I will update this thread.