My New Edison 

Standard Model B.

(Well, it's not new, but it is new to me.)

It is an Edison Standard Phonograph Model B made at some point between 1907 and 1908. 

Yes it truly was the "Boom Box" of it's time. Original price $20 at a time when most made less than a dollar a day, which represented about 12% of the average yearly income.

It did not run at first, needing a belt ,which I obtained from APSCO. (They are a great New York company specializing in this hobby.) When that was done, I found it had a bumpy intermediate gear which I obtained from ebay. The reproducer was so rotten that my daughter said it sounded "like a man screaming." So off to APSCO again for a rebuild kit which was surprisingly inexpensive compared to the $$$ I shelled out for the Diamond Disk reproducer rebuild items last year. Now it sounds very clear, surprisingly clear for it's age. Everyone who hears it comments about how pristine the quality is. It came with one cylinder, standing beside the machine in the picture: a Columbia 2 minute indestructible "The Childs Festival Gavotte overture." I have since gathered a few more, including some four minute cylinders. This of course means I HAVE to get a four minute machine eventually or I'll die (that is how I will explain it to my wife at least).

As an added treat, you knew I HAD to do this:

Many thanks to my dog Gordon for reviving the great role originally played by "Nipper". If this photo gets famous, he has agreed to share half of his wealth with me, or at least that is what I think he said. His English is a little vague since he is part German Sheppard, and like most new immigrants, he is having trouble acclimating to the vernacular. (He didn't quite understand what that last sentence meant.)

Disclaimer: No dog or phonograph was harmed in the making of this picture. Only a piece of His Master's bologna was sacrificed to get him to stick his nose into the horn.

Additional useless info:

I had thought of upgrading the gearing for my Edison Standard plus buying a model H reproducer for 4 minute cylinders, but but upon second thought, the additional $300 plus would be put in a machine I would not likely be able to sell for more than $300. It would be better in terms of investment to get another machine which would have a reproducer capable of getting the most from the newer and better sounding Amberol records. The model C and H reproducers have a terrible grating effect on the ear even when properly rebuilt, also I am assuming that an Edison Amberola would have a higher quality sound closer to that of my beloved diamond disk machine.

New: I finally got around to recording my cylinders. Here is the first cylinder I ever had, the one that came with this machine. The Children's Festival Gavotte by the Bohemian Orchestra on a Columbia 2 minute, which is odd since it is supposed to have been recorded in 1910, well into the four minute era. For even more cylinder recordings, see my cylinder page in the Edison catagory.

New: 3 August 2008: About a month ago, my job took me up to Northern Indiana for a week. While passing through Angola Indiana, I stopped at an antique shop (of course) and sitting near the door was a big Edison horn. No phonograph, just a horn. The price was $45 but I haggled him down to $25 over two days. Personally I did not think it would really make any difference to the sound, that back then it was more a decorative thing than functional. But interestingly it does change the sound somewhat. It is far less grating on the ears and a little more mellow, even if no louder. Here is it added to my Edison Standard which is sandwiched next to my Orthophonic Victrola, and Columbia Grafonola:

Here is the most recent picture with it's new crane (much more authentic) and the room rearranged to look nicer. The old woman was so flabbergasted and inspired by my sudden foray into neatness and order that she went out an bought me drapes. I hope she does not think that this is a harbinger of things to come...

Crazy hobby this, eh?