THIS ITEM IS SOLD

EDISON HOME PHONOGRAPH MODEL "B"


Elegant is how it looks -- but spectacular is the way it sounds! The Edison Cygnet horn was acoustically well-designed to produce loud, clear, bright music. Plus, it is space-economic, requiring no extra room to display, while giving acoustically amazing results. And what's better than an original SOLID OAK Cygnet horn ("swan's neck" from the Latin cycnus, cygnus, from Greek kyknos, "swan") in excellent condition, with original finish intact?

Even more fragile than the wood itself is the factory graining-painting on the metal horn "elbow" --  on countless occasions we have seen this Edison grain-painting flaked off, pock-marked or rusty.  The excellent condition of this 110-year-old-paint is a testament to the gentle treatment this horn has received over the long decades.


When we restored the wood of the horn bell, the original decals were lost. No worries. These historically perfect replicas were installed under the finish, just like the originals.


No less remarkable is the fact that the cabinet shown here has its original factory finish and decal.


We painstakingly cleaned and polished the original factory enamel on the upper works. This removed, step by step, all traces of gunk, grease and grime. Then we meticulously refreshed the gilt trim details -- giving the mechanical works the luster of youth. This is a 2-and-4-minute mechanism, equipped to play either of the two types of cylinder records available at the time. The reproducer was the best that money could buy -- the legendary Model "O."  Back in the day, Edison used "pot metal," a kind of zinc alloy, to make most of the Model O top plates. Over the years the pot metal deteriorated. No worries. We carefully replaced the top plate with a replica plate so historically perfect that it cannot be detected.


The underside of this technically advanced reproducer, showing the apparatus to play both the 4-minute and the 2-minute cylinder records that are commonly found in today's market.

Enough description! What about the detective story? What follows is a true life drama, it really happened. It will be written up in an upcoming magazine article.

Mrs. Acker was a wealthy widow living in Philadelphia in 1919.  That was the year she gave her Edison Home Phonograph to a local Edison dealer to be repaired. 

The repairs are completed as of 10/25/19.  The bill is paid 11/04/19, but Mrs. A. complains, when a repairman/representative of B&B calls on her, that the machine has not been returned.  The matter remains open till 3/15/20, when Mrs. A. goes to the store to retrieve her machine.  Before she enters, she encounters the same repairman who had previously visited her, who wants to know why she is there.  She goes inside and is told by a salesman that her Phonograph was stolen.  The salesman offers her a replacement Home Phonograph.  She declines and leaves the store in frustration, but she is followed by the same mysterious repairman whom she has already met twice.  As she is about to board a street car, the repairman questions her about how the matter was settled.  She finds his actions suspicious and asks him when this robbery was supposed to have occurred.  He stutters, hesitates and says he thinks that two or three machines were taken.  Mrs. A. suspects this man knows more than he is telling.  She’s not sure what his interest in this matter is, but she’s sure he has some undisclosed knowledge of the so-called theft, or he has been sent by the management to mollify her.

 

B&B owner Herbert E. Blake writes to Mrs. A. on 3/16/20 asserting that the machine was stolen before the repairs were completed, regardless of the fact that she was sent a bill for the repairs which she already paid.  No police report is cited.  Blake points out that one of his salesmen offered her a replacement.  Instead of seeming contrite, Blake adopts a somewhat diffident tone and admonishes her to understand his own unpleasant situation, but does think the matter important enough to sign the letter personally.  He closes by asking her what she wants to do next.  Mrs. A. replies, formulating her deductions, that the timeline offered by B&B seems off, and that some kind of double-dealing is taking place. 

Finally, Mrs. Acker agrees to accept a replacement machine from Blake.  That machine is the same one we are presently offering for sale. Blake provides an original set of instructions for the top-of-the-line Model O reproducer.

This two-page set of directions is the only time we have seen factory instructions for the Model O, in over 50 years.

All the pictured documents, plus much more, will be given to the buyer of our Home Phonograph.


Purchase the elegant and refined Cygnet Home Phonograph and invest in the best. This instrument will delight you with years of music and enjoyment. It is of the highest quality, correctly cleaned and adjusted, ready to set up and enrich your leisure hours. We spent the time to carefully remove every spec of dirt and gunk from the mechanism without doing any harm. It is here that our decades of experience pay dividends. Do not mistake our merchandise for the shabby, poorly regulated claptrap found elsewhere on the Web. NOBODY else has our over 50 years of expertise, with 8 books in print on the history of recorded sound to prove it!

Price: $2850.00 US, equipped to play BOTH 4-minute records AND 2-minute records (Model O reproducer), including two 4-minute records AND two 2-minute records, plus shipping and handling. (NY State residents must pay sales tax, if applicable.)

Contact: phonotim@gmail.com             

Telephone: 585-244-5546  

Click here for Terms & Conditions of sale

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