1901 Columbia AJ Top Crank Disc Graphophone- WORKS

$

1,595

Gramophone-georg Store



video.yahoo.com/video/play CLICK to see a video of this Columbia disc machine!


Here's a really nice example of the Columbia Graphophone Company's earliest venture into a Disc Phonograph or Gramophone- the extremely rare first design top- crank Columbia "AJ". This was Columbia's answer to the Berliner/ Eldridge Johnson / Victor "Patent" or "Nipper" machine, and the only Columbia disc player ever to have a top crank. Within months, the crank would move to the back panel (opposite the horn/ arm), then to the right side of the case where it remained for the rest of production.

This particular AJ was literally a basket case when I picked it up a few years ago. The case was in several pieces, and water- damaged. The horn and bell was egg- shaped, beat to you- know- where, and had several nail holes in the bell by the rim. The motor was COMPLETELY worn out- the hole for the winder in the upper bed plate had worn severely, and the winding gear was stripped. The arm support was missing, as was the crank and reproducer. The turntable that came with it was obviously a reproduction, and the spindle hole in it was too big for the spindle.

In spite of that, due to the rarity of the machine I decided to attempt to fix it. While one can usually find a Berliner patent machine on eBay a couple times a year, how often do you see a functional first design AJ? Since I've been a windup gramophone enthusiast for over 30 years, I have a lot of repairs under my belt, and, my "day job" is a German automobile restoration specialist... So I thought, "Why not?"

First order of business was to locate the missing parts. I found a long- throat reproducer from a Columbia- built Standard Model X that was heavily worn but serviceable. I ordered a cabinet decal, an historically correct reproduction crank, arm support, and horn bracket from my usual phonograph parts supplier. I found a winding gear in my parts stash.

One thing that was missing was the four wooden column embellishers that were 'supposed to be' on the corners of the cabinet. What was even stranger than the fact that they were ALL missing was the fact that there was positively NO SIGN that they'd ever even been on the cabinet in the first place. After talking to several other long- time phono people, I heard that it's possible that some of the earliest machines could have come WITHOUT the corner parts, so I decided not to bother with them- They can always be added later as later AJ cabinets come available quite often. As far as I'm concerned, the jury is out as to whether they all had these, though.

I stripped the cabinet and glued it back together, lightly sanding it to get rid of the moisture damage. It has been finished in historically correct "yellow" shellac. The decal is an historically correct reproduction, and is UNDER the shellac. I repaired the motorboard perhaps somewhat clumsily with a thick stainless automotive washer and two rivets. I drilled a new hole in the winder stalk, and mounted the new winder gear somewhat lower on the winding shaft than the original so that it would wind the spring gear on the lower, non- worn portion. I performed these repairs so that they can be UNDONE should a subsequent owner wish to do things differently.

It was necessary to upgrade the governor springs/ weights with ones from a later parts machine as the originals were corroded and destroyed. Again, this is a "bolt on/ bolt off" repair modification. a purist with access to the correct parts can easily change it back. I then serviced the reassembled spring motor with synthetic automotive grease and oils.

To make the turntable work with this machine, I sleeved it with a hard plastic sleeve. It's installed inside the turntable bevel itself, and isn't visible. The turntable felt is period, coming from an Edison Diamond Disc machine and trimmed to fit. Just enough patina and a couple small holes in the felt give the machine a far more authentic appearance than the new craft store dark green felt that most restorers use.

So, that's about it. If I've offended any phonograph purists out there, well, I'm sorry! I felt that it was far more important to preserve a piece of history as accurately as possible, rather than consigning a rare machine to the junk heap!

So now, let's let the pictures and the video tell the rest of the story. The three "issues" that I'm aware of with this machine are: 1) one of the glued- in reinforcements inside the cabinet is missing. This is not visible, and has no effect on functionality, and 2) Very occasionally, the machine will stop in mid- play, or refuse to run after winding. The winder gear binds against one small errant part of the spring motor. Simply wind a little farther should this happen and it'll run just fine, and finally 3) the brass horn elbow is incorrect- It is identical to the original except the original was stamped "Patent Applied For", and this one has a patent date of 1903. The original one was severely damaged- If I can find it, I'll include it. The horn is stamped "Patent Applied For".

This machine is primitive. You must remove the crank handle before playing, as the winder runs backwards with the motor while playing and will knock the needle off the record if you leave it on. This early machine was designed ONLY for the earliest SEVEN- INCH RECORDS. it will play one record all the way through with no  problem.

Oh, and don't expect Hi- Fi. This machine plays very well for what it is, but sound recording has come a LONG way in the last 107 years!

Finally, as a bonus, I'm including TWENTY FIVE (25) Columbia seven- inch records with the machine (Including #322, "The Columbia Phonograph Company March"!!!) and TWO Harvard Disc 7" records. If I recall correctly, these are all "announced" at the beginning of the selection.

I'm also including a pack of 100 needles of your choice- Medium or Loud Tone. I prefer the Mediums on this machine.

NOTE: BUY- IT- NOW PRICE INCLUDES PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING IN THE CONTINENTAL USA! GREAT LAST- MINUTE GIFT FOR THE PHONOGRAPH COLLECTOR ON YOUR GIFT LIST! I WILL SHIP NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER  CLEARED PAYMENT- PAYPAL SHIPPED TO CONFIRMED ADDRESS ONLY- SIGNATURE REQUIRED.

Look at  my other auctions for more PHONOGRAPHS!