Name/Title
Thomas Edison Crank Record PlayerEntry/Object ID
2019.L.4.1Description
1916 Thomas Edison Crank Chippendale Record Player. Front has top half opening with arched trim for music. Above has lined detail and lid fans out. Door opening on the bottom with brass knob with a flower motif. Door opens to vertical record slots in two layers. Top opens to reveal the area for the records to be played.
Reference material: [R.OLC.FURN] at the OLC center, 2nd Floor
44 Edison Diamond Discs are stored in the cabinet area under the player (one may be on the turntable). There are also 19 RCA and Columbia records from around the 1940s.
These phonographs play the thick Diamond discs using a diamond stylus, no need to change needles. https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/23753-edison-diamond-disc-phonograph
Edison’s Model C-250 Chippendale cabinet was introduced in December 1915 and originally sold for $285, expensive at the time. Cabinets were made in oak or mahogany, and later in walnut. The Diamond Disc phonograph had a diamond stylus that lasted longer than an ordinary stylus and could only play the records especially made for it. The quarter-inch thick records couldn't be played on other phonograph machines and were more expensive than other records. The words ”Official Laboratory Model” were trademarked in 1920 but had been in use since at least 1918. Chippendale Model C-250 became Model C-19 beginning in April 1919, so your phonograph must have been made after that. Value of the phonograph, $200-$300. The records sell for about $3-$10 each. https://www.kovels.com/collectors-questions/edison-diamond-disc-official-laboratory-model-phonograph.htmlDimensions
Height
51 inWidth
25-1/2 inDepth
23-1/4 inRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2008.F.08.1, 2019.F.1.01, R.06.020
