Hello! I haven't had much time for art, between going back to work and editing a novel.

I do have something neat to show off. My grandmother moved out of her house recently. I flew to Houston and drove these two items up to NC.

The first is a 1905 Edison Fireside Phonograph cylinder player. It works! The sound quality is pretty poor, though. The needle mechanism may need to be restored.



That steel drum is full of cylinders and bakelite records.



The other is an Edison Disc Phonograph, manufactured about 1920. It plays, and sounds much better.



Inside I found the original catalog. It retailed for $295 in 1920, which in current money would place it in the price range of large-screen TV's. It seems the price for entertainment hasn't really changed. Some of the larger models retailed for up to $6,000 in 1920 - certainly in the Great Gatsby's price range. This is a "Chippendale" model with mahogany finish. This one is fairly common. Another version was finished with oak and is more rare.

There was also a handbill for a silent movie tucked inside the cabinet.



I'll have to put some of the recordings online. I'd imagine most of the copyrights have expired. The sound is pretty good for a purely mechanical device that hasn't been played for at least 40 years.

Wow - you might be sitting on a small fortune there. I do like the phonograph.

Wow that is some collection. It will take a lot of room to store all that.

some treasures you have there, merrak! i have a friend who would gladly have pawned his grandmother for those