Thomas Edison Phonograph-Need Help

I just inherited a Thomas A Edison Phonograph from my husbands parents. I have a model and serial number. On the label inside it is makred patented May 31, 1898, 1903, 1908 and 1913.

Serial number is SM 108289
Model number is C 150

If anyone has any idea on where I can go to get more information and who could fix it up a bit....believe it or not, it works!

Thanks,
Jane Grimes
Indianapolis

I'm no authority on Edison phonographs; I'm primarily interested in the "talking machines" produced by Victor, HMV, Columbia, etc., but I'm hopeful that some Edison enthusiasts will chime in.

In the meantime, here's some sites that may be of interest to you.

Diamond Disc Brochure -- http://www.nipperhead.com/ddisc.htm (Click on the thumbnail images to make them full size for viewing/printing.)

Other Edison related material found on this page -- http://www.nipperhead.com/ephemera.htm

The History of the Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph -- http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/eddschst.html

BOOK AVAILABLE -- "The Edison Disc Phonographs" -- http://www.mulhollandpress.com/ed.htm

Edison Diamond Discs -- 1912-1929 -- http://www.gracyk.com/diamonddisc.shtml


As noted in many of the above resources, Edison Diamond Disc Phonographs were specifically designed to play Edison Diamond Disc records and will NOT play conventional "78s" made by Victor, Columbia, etc., unless they are fitted with a special adaptor/sound box assembly.

HTH,
Joe_DS

Thank you....this is just intreging to me. Wonder if it is worth anything? Think we are going to put some work into it and set it in our basement for show.

This is good information for me and did not know it exsisted. Any other thoughts/guidance I would greatly appreciate.

Jane Grimes

There are many sources for information and restoration on the internet. Simply do a search under phonograph or Edison and you will find plenty. A well restored edison machine is wonderful to listen to. Good luck.

Jane,

Check out this site:

http://www.engineeringexpert.net/edphono.htm

Phil's a great guy and knows plenty about Diamond Disc Phonographs. If it's the machine I think, based on Sheraton furniture-that's one beautiful machine! You will find a lot of information on all the sites mentioned. Most importantly you must have a good diamond stylus to prevent damaging the Diamond Discs! Enjoy it DDs sound fantastic.

Regards,
J.

I realize that this is an extremely old post and the chances of the original poster seeing this is close to NILL but it just came up on a Google search, so I thought I'd try.
I'm wondering what he/she ever found out as I am now in the same situation - have become the new owner of my parents' C150 model, SN is SM81091 and am trying to get more information on finding out the value and who may be interested in this piece.
Thanks, Erika

erikap120 wrote:I realize that this is an extremely old post and the chances of the original poster seeing this is close to NILL but it just came up on a Google search, so I thought I'd try.
I'm wondering what he/she ever found out as I am now in the same situation - have become the new owner of my parents' C150 model, SN is SM81091 and am trying to get more information on finding out the value and who may be interested in this piece.
Thanks, Erika

Hi Erika:

The Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph, Model C-150, was a popular, mid-priced upright. It was designed to play ONLY Edison Diamond Disc Records, but could play standard 78s with an adapter.

Here's some background information --

The Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph -- http://www.intertique.com/TheEdisonDiam ... graph.html
History of the Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph -- http://inventors.about.com/library/inve ... graph2.htm
Edison Disc Record -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edison_Disc_Record

As for a price range, depending on the finish, I've seen these sell in the $300-$400+ range for something in very good, original, working condition. (Normally, the motor and reproducer will have to be serviced, in any case.)

If you can, post some photos of the one you have.

Joe