[Phono-L] Dr. Philip Peterson

Thu Apr 16 19:10:30 PDT 2009

 Scott, 

No, the glass cylinder I saw at the Site wasn't shaped like a typical cylinder, and had a light coating of wax on a transparent glass base.  The cylinder is pictured in an article I wrote in the January 1982 issue of the Antique Phonograph Monthly.

George Paul 

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott and Denise Corbett <sdcorbett at earthlink.net>
To: 'Antique Phonograph List' <phono-l at oldcrank.org>
Sent: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 9:42 pm
Subject: RE: [Phono-L] Dr. Philip Peterson

George,
        Thanks for that informative (and sad) story. Something you said caught 
my eye. It was about the glass based cylinder. A few years ago I discovered a 
strange cylinder in a group of run-of-the-mill titles. It was black, heavy, and 
the same size and shape as a cylinder. When I tried it on a mandrel, it was a 
perfect fit! It had a beveled edge, but no grooves or writing of any kind. Bruce 
Peterson (a fellow collector and a all around great guy and NO relation to the 
fore mentioned Dr. Peterson), tested it in his laboratory. His machine 
determined that the core was glass. Somewhere, I had a list of other trace 
amounts. Does this match what you remember 30 years ago?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Scott & Denise Corbett

-----Original Message-----
From: phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org] On 
Behalf Of gpaul2000 at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 2:57 PM
To: phono-l at oldcrank.org
Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Dr. Phili
p Peterson

 Jay,

The fact that you invoked the word "infamous" suggests that you know something 
of the man...  It's a tragic story (and I'm unaware of many details that others 
can supply), but the story is basically this:  Dr. Philip Peterson was a 
professor at Stanford University, and during the late 1960s and 1970s 
contributed some first-class research to the field of antique phonographs and 
records.  Most of his contributions  - at least those of which I'm aware - were 
published in the Antique Phonograph Collectors Society Newsletter/Journal.  This 
organization and its publication ceased existence around 1977.  

I started visiting the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey 
in 1978.  My interest was research, and the staff there at the time were most 
accommodating.  I made advance arrangements, and upon arrival, was shown to the 
underground vaults.  A pile of notebooks had been usually been gathered for me, 
and I had basically free rein of the place.  I remember a moment during my first 
visit when it occurred to me that the handwriting I was reading in the notebooks 
looked somewhat familiar. As a staffer passed by, I asked who had made the 
notations I was reading.  The answer was "Oh - that's the 'Old Man.'"  I was 
taken aback.  Who was I to be leafing through these historic documents without 
protective gloves, and without supervision?  I spent many hours in the vaults 
wading through literally mountains of information, rare20white wax 
cylinders,20and experimental records (such as a glass based cylinder).  Any 
documents I wanted copied were cheerfully done for I believe 10 cents each.  
Each time I left the Site, I shook hands with the staffers and thanked them for 
their help.  And it occurred to me every time I walked out unsearched that 
security was pretty lax.  Unfortunately, it also occurred to Dr. Philip Peterson 
- - and not-so-coincidentally Dr. Peterson began holding mail auctions of 
outstanding Edison ephemera - - most of it consisting of rare and early 
documents...

Around 1985, the Site sent out a mass appeal to collectors.  They were missing 
documents, many of which matched the descriptions offered by Dr. Peterson in his 
mail auctions.  Anyone who knew the whereabouts of these artifacts was 
encouraged to contact the Site or the FBI.  Dr. Peterson was convicted of 
stealing a multitude of artifacts from the Site, and ultimately served some time 
in prison.  He passed away not long after he was released, but I don't know when 
that occurred.  Meanwhile, some VERY honest collectors returned some of the 
stolen property to the Site - - and swallowed the substantial loss they 
incurred.  I'm afraid that's the only bright spot in the whole sad story.  Many 
of the documents were never recovered, and Dr. Peterson was found to have 
destroyed a number of documents by cutting Edison's signature from them and 
selling only the signature - - an untraceable crime.  

So, a 
man who could have been remembered 
today as the excellent researcher he was, and a contributor to our hobby, 
instead stole from the Site, cheated collectors by selling them stolen property, 
and permanently erased a portion of Edison history through the destruction of 
documents in an unsuccessful effort to cover his tracks.  Tragedy upon tragedy.  

Needless to say, security at the Site has dramatically improved.

George Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: Jay Horenstein <jay.horenstein at gmail.com>
To: phono-l at oldcrank.org
Sent: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 4:53 pm
Subject: [Phono-L] Dr. Philip Peterson

I don’t mean to stir up any trouble, but I’m curious as to who this infamous
Dr. Philip Peterson is?

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