[Phono-L] Linenoid horn

Peter Fraser pjfraser at alamedanet.net
Tue Aug 14 19:15:47 PDT 2007


linoleum is also made of linseed, and is extremely durable for an  
organic material...

On Aug 14, 2007, at 5:44 PM, Walt wrote:

> Hi Bruce,
>
> The Crane Brothers of Westfield, Massachusetts are indeed the  
> manufacturer.
> I have a "Linenoid" horn that is very dark blue (inside and out)  
> with three
> gold bands that run around circumference. (I think Tim Fabrizio may  
> have
> seen mine when he was here in the spring. Uncle Tim?)
>
> There is one example of a "Linenoid" horn pictured on page 20 of  
> "Antique
> Phonographs ~ Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gimmicks" by Uncle Tim  
> (Fabrizio) and
> Uncle George (Paul).
>
> The horn that I have is not shaped exactly like the one in the  
> book. Mine is
> a bit shorter but has a somewhat truer exponential shape which  
> makes the
> bell significantly larger in diameter for its length when compared  
> to the
> more traditional horns.
>
> The horns are supposedly made of pure linen. Mine has a few nicks  
> like the
> one in the Gizmos book and I can substantiate that it is indeed  
> linen. Linen
> is derived from flax (also called linseed) and it is easy to weave  
> into a
> fabric or it can be made into a pulp from which (typically) fine  
> papers and
> fiber board can be made. I don't think that the term "cardboard" is  
> at all
> inappropriate although it is really more of a "fancy" or "super  
> cardboard"
> <grin>.
>
> I do not know how common these are. Perhaps Tim or George might  
> have some
> additional statistical data than the book shows. I suspect that  
> they are
> probably not classified as scarce or rare, but because they are  
> made of an
> organic vegetable fiber, I would think that a very low percentage  
> of the
> originals are still in existence. I know I will probably hang on to  
> mine.
> Gizmo's suggests that the value is in the $100 to $150 range. I cannot
> affirm or deny that value since mine was sort of free.
>
> BTW, I searched the US Patent database but did not see any  
> applications
> filed by "Crane Brothers" of Westfield, Massachusetts. It seems  
> that similar
> horns were made by a multitude of companies.
>
> Walt
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l- 
> bounces at oldcrank.org] On
> Behalf Of bruce78rpm at comcast.net
> Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 7:39 PM
> To: PHONO-L at Oldcrank.org
> Subject: [Phono-L] Linenoid horn
>
>
> This afternoon I visited a gentlemans house in another town to pick  
> up a
> victor horn that I purchased. While there I spotted an unusual But  
> very
> impressive horn that I had never seen before. The gentleman said  
> that he
> purchased it with an Edison triumph machine years ago. It was large  
> and
> black on the outside and light red on the inside and made from a  
> material
> which was kind of a cross between light wood and heavy cardboard, but
> extremely resilient. The little logo on the horn said "Linenoid  
> Horn". it
> was not shaped like any horn I had ever seen before either and its  
> bell was
> slightly conical rather then bell like. THIS HORN COULD OBVIOUSLY  
> EITHER
> HANG FROM A FLOOR CRANE OR FROM A CRANE ATTACHED TO THE TRIUMPH.  
> HAS ANYONE
> EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF ONE OF THESE BEFORE. I GOOGLED LINENOID, AND  
> THE ONLY
> THING I COULD FIND IS THAT A COMPANY CALLED CRANE BROTHERS, WHO  
> MADE PAPER
> PRODUCTS IN THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY AND LOCATED IN DALTON,
> MASSACHUSETTS IN THE WESTERN PART OF TH
>  E ST
> ATE, USED A PROCESS TO MAKE LINEN WASTE INTO A PRODUCT CALLED  
> LINENOID, FROM
> WHICH they MADE MANY PRACTICAL ITEMS, AND I ASSUME THAT PHONOGRAPH  
> HORNS
> Were AMONG THEM. VERY FASCINATING. IF ANYONE CAN ADD TO THIS, AND  
> HAS EVER
> SEEN ONE OF THESE HORNS PLEASE REPLY. I WILL TRY TO GET BACK TO  
> THIS FELLOWS
> HOUSE SOON AND TAKE A DIGITAL OF THIS HORN FOR ALL TO SEE. IF IT IS  
> RARE,
> MAYBE I CAN MAKE A TRADE
>
> BRUCE
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