Edison LU-37 complete! ??

I have grown up with this phonograph. It was my great grand mothers. It has all 33 discs, in excelt shape. The cleaning brush. a small white glass jar with silver coloured screw on top (silver? tin? it has no corosian) and edison is visable on the lid but the other words have woren off and a brownish looking "tarry" stuff is in it-its half full. a brass/copper (?) miniture oil can (it does need polishing),it stands approx 3-1/2 inches tall, base diamator is between 1-2 inches-looks like it would hold one ounce, the tip of the spout is angled about 60 degrees, and an instruction book.
It is a 1922. all stickers/lables/plates are on it where they should be.
It works rather well as far as I can tell - hasn't been played but once in the last 20 years-today just to check.
It does however have one small scratch on the lid about 1 1/4 inches long very narrow about 1milimeter wide-it is hard to see.
And at a slumber party 30 years past, a small piece of the design on the screen came off during a pillow fight - which i still have - about 1/2 inches long by 1/4 inch with--just the dark coloured wood.

just from looking around at this site - i'd say i have something rare as its is all together - but do i ????????? what all did they come with brand new off the sales floor?

I see that most of the LU-37's go for about $350.00 US
Is that what mine is vauled at too?
Not that i would ever part with it - i've loved it since i can remimber - if i was well behaved during the day i got to crank the handle and hear one disc before i was sent off to bed - and its been mine since i was 10.
It has only been moved once from the time GreartGrandMa had delivered to the farm, when mom brought it from OK to CA.
Thank you for any comments and feed back
Redd

wow-i just went into ebay for another look on phonographs--i saw another LU-37-bidding started at $1500.00U.S. however it had a fist size chuck of wood missing , the lid was warped and the legs horribled scratched, 4 disc are missing--is that seller off his rocker or will he get that ?

again thank you
redd

redd wrote:wow-i just went into ebay for another look on phonographs--i saw another LU-37-bidding started at $1500.00U.S. however it had a fist size chuck of wood missing , the lid was warped and the legs horribled scratched, 4 disc are missing--is that seller off his rocker or will he get that ?

again thank you
redd

Hah! I certainly would save the listing fees and go lower. ...but I've added it to my watch list, i may be selling my LU-37 for an "upgrade" soon. (and mine's in better shape)

I think US$350 is probably what they're worth over there. I doubt the $1500 machine will get a bid unless it's a shill.
Redd can probably add about $25 for the grease bottle, $35-45 for the oil can, and about $20 for the instuction book to the $350 price tag. Also check the record numbers on your disc's. Most are worth $5-10, but discs in the 52000 range are electrically recorded, and these pull $50 on average- some hot dance numbers go for a couple hundred each!

thank you for that so about 450.00 --but i still need to check the records and see if they are 52000 or not - i know two of them off the top of my head yes we have no bannas-a bedtime fav of mine and i'm just a gigilo - yep the one david lee roth remade

well thanks for all that so at only 450 i think it is safe to show my 10 yr how to operate it and handle everything
if it was worth about 2000 or so i dont think i would but under 500 whats the harm?? maybe he'll show it to his grand kids one day

i am very new to this forum let alone the EdisonL.U.I have!regarding the value of records i have about 9 i believe with the oldest being ,i think ,1916 and one 1921.i have 4 that are of great fun!2 are from the childrens series of bugs bunny and the tortoise by Mel Blance and 2 are also from a childrens series of walt disneys picture three little pigs..since those 2 names are pretty darn reconized today would there be a good value on them?also i welcome anyone that is looking for a edison LU which has the records plus more offered with it since they came with the phono...I appreciate you taking a look at this post and that perhaps someone can give me some sound and honest advice on any of these things i have mentioned..thanks again!

Records are funny things when it comes to value. In general, most 78's are only worth a dollar or two- even in perfect condition. Even very early single sided 78's seldom fetch more than a couple dollars.
A lot depends on the artist & title, condition & rarity. Many disc's were pressed in the 10's of thousands, even when disc's were first produced, so today there are still many surviving examples around & are worth very little.
Many people tend to think that their Bing Crosby or Enrico Caruso records are worth a fortune, but the reality is that these were very popular artist who sold 100,000 copies of just about everything they recorded, so just about any op-shop or record collection will have copies of certain titles which makes them vurtually worthless. On the other hand, I once saw a Caruso record sell for about $4000, but this was one of his first recordings pressed on the Zonophone label, which at the time was pressed in very limited numbers. You find that the record which are worth alot, are the ones that were produced in limited numbers by obscure artists & labels, that have gain popularity now because of their unique style or performance. Even then, you have to find 2 or 3 collectors who really want it, and are willing to get into a bidding war to drive the price up.
Very occasionally you'll also see a fairly common disc go for a high price, but this is usually pure luck, because a collector may have the entire works or series of an artist or label except that one record, & will pay more than usual to get it & complete their collection- or the person buying it knows nothing about the value of a record, and thinking it's rare will pay way too much.

The same sort of thing is true of childrens records. Many collectors actually won't buy them, I guess because they're not the sort of thing you can sit down to, play & enjoy. Just like the animated movies of today, many kids records were voiced by celebraties of the day like Jerry Louis & Boris Karloff, and sold by the truck load. There are collectors like me though, who do buy them because of the "fun" factor, the sometimes beautiful arty covers or unusual label designs, but I don't think I've ever paid more than $8 for any of the 100 or so that I've got. Most of them infact have cost me 50 cents or $1. I have seen some go for $30 or $40 on ebay, but again these are usually the ones that were not popular & sold in low numbers, or a collect buys them to complete a set. Another thing that can sometimes drive the price of kids records up is the covers, because some were printed on paper with a high acid content, and after 50+ yrs will literally start to disintergrate, so although the record may be very common, the covers are now very rare.

There are apparently price guides available in the US, but generally like most price guides, they are largely inaccurate and over price their true value. I think the best way to research what a record is worth, is to watch for copies to appear on ebay & see what they actually "Sell" for. I've seen Crosby's White Xmas listed for $10,000 before, but because it's one of his best sellers, it wouldn't sell for more than $1 or $2, so it's important to wait for the selling price at the end of the auction. If the opening bid for a record is $5 and doesn't sell, then it's obviously not worth $5. You'll find a lot of good tunes & artist listed for 99 cents that don't sell, mainly because everyones already got a copy in there collection, or they'd rather wait for one in better condition to turn up.

Was a specific set of records sold with this player?

Most record players came with empty slots for records, and the consumer then labeled the slots with the records he purchased. I seem to remember that Edison had tabs on the record sleeves that were removed, to be placed on the slot identifiers.

Those records were valuable during one particular period. The problem was World War II rationing. Japan had captured the Philippines, which was the major source of shellac. Since it was needed for the war too, record companies had to use recycled shellac. This meant that consumers who wanted to buy a new record had to turn in a used record. Often kids turned in records their parents wanted to keep. This, plus record breakage, caused consumers to lose recordings they didn't really want to lose. And some of the substandard record changers rebuilt and sold during the war broke records while trying to change them.

After the war, people tried to buy back the records they lost during the war. This made the Caruso records, some other classical albums, and earlier popular records to become valuable, as serious collectors sought to rebuild their prewar collections. This high pricing lasted until about 1953, when the record companies had enough time to reissue most of the sought-after recordings on LP records. Then the high prices ended, but the rumors that the records were valuable persisted.

Today, the value of records depends almost solely on how hard they are to find, compared to how much they are wanted. Some records remain valuable, because very few copies survived the war intact.

One reason some of the classical albums became valuable for a time is that they were recorded on multi-record sets. Breakage of even one record destroyed the continuity of the work. So people sought to replace the broken discs.

Record-changer wrote:Was a specific set of records sold with this player?

Most record players came with empty slots for records, and the consumer then labeled the slots with the records he purchased. I seem to remember that Edison had tabs on the record sleeves that were removed, to be placed on the slot identifiers.

No. This phonograph (and all other models with record storage) were supplied empty, and left for the customer to fill with their own choice of records at their own pace & expense.

As far as I know, DD's never had tabs on the covers.
The upright slotted storage systems, as in the LU-37, C19 etc were simply numbered along the bottom or top, on a permanent strip of paper-like substance. It's interesting that there was never a seperate index supplied with these machines, in which to write the record titles that corrosponded to the numbered slots.
Earlier storage systems such as the drawers in the C250, had either wooden dividers between all records similar to the upright system, or were divided in sections that contained 10 records each, and had cards between each record. These were more or less designed to make the record numbers stamped on the edge of the disc readable, but this system was replaced by the upright numbered slots around 1919, when the records no longer carried the numbers on the edge of the record.
Record albums were designed for open bottomed uprights like the A100, which (I think) held 6 records each, and only these came with an index to write record titles on.

The only Edison machine I know of that came complete with a set of records was the "School" cylinder phonograph, which was supplied with 60 BA cylinders.

Edison cylinders did come with a strip of paper in the early days, on which was printed record information similar to the labels on later cylinder lids. These could be cut out & pasted to either the lid of the cylinder box, or to the top of the cardboard pegs in cylinder storage cabinets & carry cases. This seperate strip of paper with cut out label seems to have been stopped once the gold moulded cylinders started to carry the record information around the top edge of the cylinder.

Reality Check Here! I purchased a very clean good shape LU-37 at a sale last year for 70.00. I just purchased the console version for 50.00 including 50 records. I think I saw one finish on ebay last week in the 137.00 range? These people that put things up for thousands will never sell them. Look at the "completed" items listing for that machine and you will see what people will really pay. Not to downgrade it, but the LU was the smallest and cheapest machine edison made in a full cabinet style. It preforms reasonably well but it isn't the finest type for serious listening. Even the top of the line C19 which sold for over 350.00 nearly a hundred years ago often in mahogany or brown will either not sell or go very reasonable. I paid 25.00 for one of those this summer here at a sale. It needs work, but wasn't by any means a junker.
Machines go for what someone is willing to pay, and how easy it is to pick up. I see machines that are in isolated areas go very reasonable or usually not at all. those located near large citys and lots of collectors have a better chance.
One more observation.. Craigslist had a William and Mary upright listed for 200.00 with 38 records. It did sell, but the two other edisons that people are asking 400 or up are not.
Good luck. If its a really important family treasure I would keep it. If you want to part with it a reasonable price might sell it.

Larry is right- location has a lot to do with what certain machines will sell for. Low end Edison's have never really been popular with collectors, and especially in the USA, these machines often sell at very cheap prices. I only wish the same was true here in australia. Even a complete table model seldom sells for under about $300 here. I paid $1200 for my oak C19 here nearly 20 yrs ago with about 60 records, though I've seen the same machine go on ebay nowdays for around $600 or so. The last William & Mary I knew of here got just under $2000, because out here they are considered a fairly rare cabinet model.
The only diamond disc machine I've ever sold was a fully restored London table model, complete with instruction book & 78 adapter, which I got $695 for!

Hi Shane,
It seems that even Oak machines have recently taken a hit.. I know what you mean about premium prices for them. At one time 900.00 for a C19 might have been something people might consider paying.. right now though there is a nice oak C19 not too far from here that the asking price of 600. hasn't budged it so far. I would guess the seller would take less. On ebay some very fine excellent condition oak models ended up in the 450.00 range. I want an oak larger model, I have an S19 in oak. Hopefully one will be available somewhere near me.

Larry