Nickel Plated Edison Triumph B with mahogany case and Spruce Music Master Horn. The David Lundin Collection

Many enthusiastic collectors have scoured their searching grounds far and wide for unusual and elusive machines and related accessories to add to their growing collections. For myself, I have always been intrigued with Edison cylinder machines such as the Gem, Standard, Home, Spring Motor, and Triumph with special factory or dealer/aftermarket upgrades. Factory options were offered at an additional premium to the base price of a phonograph and often advertised in a catalog or on a price list. This included options such as mahogany cabinets, special plating in nickel or gold, factory painted decorations, and spruce or mother of pearl inlaid Music Master horns. As technology advanced, additional options from the factory, from the dealer, and from other aftermarket sources were available across the expanding industry. These allowed owners to upgrade an existing phonograph to the latest technology or newest fashion. These included Edison combination attachments, repeaters, horn cranes, horns, and other accessories. Companies such as Hawthorne and Sheble and the Tea Tray Manufacturing company were examples of firms which offered an immense variety of aftermarket options for phonograph owners.

The first mention of a mahogany option from the Edison factory, as an example, was publicized in the June 1904 issue of the Edison Phonograph Monthly. That being said, specially decorated phonographs as early as the Edison Spring Motor could be ordered from 1893 in gold ($50) or nickel ($25) hardware, but very few such Spring Motors are known today. The Triumph, the successor to the Spring Motor, was offered with a special decoration option (applied flowers, extra striping, etc.) for $8, nickel plating for $25, gold plating for $50, and/or a mahogany cabinet for $10 additional cost. These options added a lot of expense. As an example, the base cost for a Model B Triumph when introduced in 1906 was $50. For the machine pictured from my collection (Triumph Model B circa 1907), it would have cost $50 for the machine, plus $25 for the nickel plating, and $10 for the mahogany cabinet. Later upgrades would have cost $15 for the special spruce horn, $7 for the 2/4 combination kit and reproducer, and $7.50 for the model D repeater. This would have brought the total investment of the machine to $114.50, or well more than double the base price! One hundred $USD in 1906 would be comparable to about $4,120 today. For added perspective, in 1906, the average monthly salary for the American worker was $17-$33 per month, and the average Canadian worker was close to the same. These machines would not have been affordable for the average family (in this case, it would have consumed 3.5 to 7 months of wages or more to afford one like this).

Factory nickel plated Edison Spring Motor. The David Lundin Collection

Edison Standard Model B in Mahogany. The Scott Malawski Collection

The Model B Triumph (which left the factory in March/ April 1907 or thereabouts) from my collection had many upgrades over time that were not all available at the time of purchase. Originally, the machine would have simply been offered beginning in 1906 with a 14-inch horn, Model C reproducer, and camel hair chip brush, in addition to the optional upgrades of nickel-plated hardware, repeater, and mahogany cabinet. As upgrades became available, the original owner would have later added the spruce Music Master horn, combination 2/4 minute attachment (allowing play of both types), and Model K reproducer, keeping up with the quickly changing technology. Clearly, the owner would have had discretionary income and had thoroughly enjoyed playing their machine and some owners made such investments and upgrades over time instead of buying an entirely new phonograph.

Special decorated Edison Gem Model B in Mahogany case. The late Domenic DiBernardo collection

Another example, this special Edison Spring Motor machine from my collection is factory nickel plated, of which only a few surviving examples are known today. The machine was acquired from an antique radio collector in Uruguay (of all places), who purchased it from an estate sale of a former expat there. I was lucky enough to see his post on Facebook, and we corresponded for a few weeks (although we are still in touch regularly). At first, I helped him with details and repair advice, but then he decided to sell the machine, and I eagerly made an offer and (quite) anxiously awaited the shipment from across the world. Amazingly, as of this writing there are also at least 2 known examples of Edison Spring Motors in mahogany cabinets, but no mention has been found of that offering in an Edison Catalog. Perhaps they were a dealer option or very special order from an affluent client, but as of this writing it is unknown. Other early machines, particularly the banner “A” versions of the Home and Triumph or the banner “B” Standard (as pictured from the collection of Scott Malawski) are very scarce in mahogany.

While later mahogany Edison Homes and Standards are more readily found (still scarce in comparison to oak), I’ve always been intrigued with seeing lower-cost machines such as the Edison mahogany-cased Gem with special decorations (as pictured from the collection of the late Domenic DiBernardo). The mahogany cabinet would have cost the buyer $2 and the special decoration was $4 while the base price of the Gem was $10. It is perplexing that someone would have chosen the lowest cost utility-grade Edison machine to upgrade in such a manner. Of course, this is also what makes such machines incredibly rare. The example shown is the only documented survivor to date.

Today, these machines with special options, depending on their configuration, can be as elusive as “hen’s teeth” to track down, and will often command a premium price unless found “in the wild” through a stroke of great fortune. For me, I will continue to work to hunt for them to add interest to my own collection, and I always appreciate admiring them in the collections of my fellow collectors.

Pricelists for phonograph attachments, May 1910