so i just took the plunge and forwarded the string to him. pjfraser at alamedanet.net wrote: > Somebody needs to engage Ron Dethlefson on this, because he may be able > to > help! > > Andrew Baron wrote: >> Hi Rich and thank you for checking in. >> >> I find the formative years of development of the Edison Disc >> technology to be very compelling, and I'm learning that there doesn't >> seem to be much known about it. Since the A-250 was derived from the >> Amberola cabinet that first appeared in 1909, it is the forerunner to >> all of the Edison Disc phonograph line. >> >> I just found a date at the bottom of form 632, the paper slip pasted >> to the back door of my early A-250; of 11-20-12. >> >> Thus, I can now narrow down the date that my early A-250 was made, >> from approximately December 1912 (the month following the paper form >> date) to roughly April 1913 (the month after the last patent date on >> the ID plate of my later A-250, assuming that not more than a few >> weeks went by before the ID plates were re-tooled to reflect the >> newest patents). >> >> If there were any documentation, or in lieu of documentation, if >> there are some others like you, with these machines who would be >> willing to compare details and furnish serial numbers, I could >> assemble a database that shows by serial number how late into the >> production certain details of these earliest D.D. machines were seen. >> >> I documented several differences I noted between my two A-250 >> machines in postings to this forum earlier this week, and this >> evening Peter Fraser will be posting three (I hope) images I emailed >> him showing a few of these differences. If there's interest, I can >> prepare a brief yes/no questionnaire that will enable us to document >> these differences in an organized way. >> >> This way we can all learn more about what we have. The hope is that >> at some point the information collected can convey the variety of >> different details, and help us narrow down the date of manufacture of >> these special, first generation, non-standardized examples. >> >> Best, >> Andy Baron >> >> >> >> On Jun 22, 2007, at 12:31 PM, Rich wrote: >> >>> I have an A-250 and would be interested in seeing what you are >>> talking about. >>> >>> Rich >>> >>> >>> On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:33:44 -0600, Andrew Baron wrote: >>> >>>> Hi George and thanks for taking the time to reply. I realize that >>>> there isn't much information documented, and this is what I'm running >>>> up against as much as anything else. >>> >>>> Neither of my two machines have paper notices on the cabinet bottoms, >>>> but the later one has a data plate with the newest patent date of >>>> Mar-11-13, wihle the earlier machine has the newest patent date of >>>> 8-26-11. The 6 in 26 is hard to make out, and might be a 3, 8 or 9. >>> >>>> Do you have a sense of how soon the patent dates on these model / >>>> serial number plates were updated, once a new patent was issued? >>> >>>> Peter Fraser has graciously offered to post photos of the early >>>> levers, so I've prepared some composited images of the differing >>>> details of both of my A-250's. My hope is that some of the Edison >>>> enthusiasts out there are familiar with this start / stop lever >>>> arrangement. If someone else has a machine with these odd levers, >>>> I'd love to know the serial number, so I can get a sense of how late >>>> into the production it was used. >>> >>>> What piqued my curiosity to begin with was that I had never seen >>>> these levers before. I don't know if that's because I haven't gotten >>>> around to the shows and big collections, or because they are >>>> relatively little known, even by other collectors. I bought my first >>>> D.D. machine in 1976, and have had many over the years, but this is >>>> the first I've seen with this odd detail. >>> >>>> Best, >>>> Andy >>> >>> >>> >>>> On Jun 22, 2007, at 7:55 AM, gpaul2000 at aol.com wrote: >>> >>>>> >>>>> Andy, >>>>> Unfortunately, without some factory documentation of each model's >>>>> serial numbers within a given month, exact dating for A-series >>>>> Edison Disc Phonographs is quite difficult.? I've seen two types of >>>>> paper license notices glued to the bottoms of these cabinets.? The >>>>> earlier has no date at the bottom, and the later one has an April >>>>> 1914 date.? Keep in mind that very few Edison Disc Phonographs were >>>>> available to the public until Aug/Sept 1913, and the fire of Dec. >>>>> 1914 put an end to most A-series production.? That gives roughly a >>>>> 15-month window for most of our A-series machines.? Given the two >>>>> different license notices, I break down the A-series dating to >>>>> "late 1913/early 1914" and "mid/late 1914."? That's about as >>>>> precise as I can get, given the limited information available. >>>>> >>>>> I'd be interested in seeing a photo of your start/stop mechanism.? >>>>> It sounds like one I had many years ago, and I'm pretty sure that >>>>> it's the earliest version.? On page 39 of Frow's "Edison Disc >>>>> Phonographs...", an "A-150" is shown with what appears to be the >>>>> conventional start/stop device, and this photo is dated March 2, >>>>> 1914.? Presuming that all models adopted this newer design at the >>>>> same time, and your "A-250" carries a pre-April 1914 license >>>>> notice, I'd date it as "late 1913/early 1914."? Hope this helps, >>>>> >>>>> George Paul >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ____________________________________________________________________ >>>>> __ >>>>> __ >>>>> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's >>>>> free from AOL at AOL.com. >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Phono-L mailing list >>>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Phono-L mailing list >>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >