Edison phonograph with blue morning glory horn for sale

Two things to keep in mind about this machine:
1.This is the only Edison morning glory horn that ever came with hand-painted flowers.
2. This machine has been meticulously restored.

The Model D Edison Standard shown here was introduced in late 1908. These machines were equipped with both 2 and 4 minute gearing in order to play the existing 2 minute records, and the new 4 minute Amberol records. From a modern perspective, it's a little like getting two machines for the price of one.

The blue morning glory horn with chrysanthemums most likely dates to around 1911. Edison was a conservative company, and almost all large Edison petal horns were black with gold trim. The notion that most of these machines sported horns with hand-painted flowers, horns so appealing to modern tastes, is a fantasy propagated by the motion picture industry.

This blue horn is the only horn with hand-painted flowers that ever carried an Edison decal, the only such horn that was ever issued with Edison factory machines. All other horns of this type were aftermarket horns.

The reason that this blue horn is so scarce is probably twofold. First, it appears very late in the history of the cylinder phonograph, when cylinder phonograph production was severely declining. Second, the paint on these horn never held up well over the years. Almost all examples have appeared with the paint totally weathered off the metal. The paint on the horn we are selling here is far, far better than average: a little wear but still very decent and beautiful on the inside, typical weathering on the outside (see images).

This Model D Standard has been nicely refinished and mechanically restored.

The case has been restored with a finish contemporary to the date of the machine, and a quality reproduction decal applied. The pinstriping on the bedplate is quite nice.

Everything mechanical has been taken apart, cleaned, inspected, lubricated and put back together. When I started disassembling this it became evident that someone had worked on it around 30 years ago, and installed a new mandrel bearing and new mainspring. I redid their work and more, pulled and re-greased the mainspring, cleaned all the gearing, re-belted the machine, etc. I replaced some of the combination gearing that was working, but a little noisy.

The craning that holds the horn is a quality duplicate of the original Edison crane.

The upper gear cover is usually missing from this model. Most sellers don't know it's missing, and if they know it's missing they won't tell you because the reproduction replacement costs $40. I think it's important to have a gear cover, and I purchased the replacement. Here, again, is one more difference between our machines and an Edison on a venue such as ebay.

This machine comes with a Model C two minute reproducer which has been rebuilt for maximum sound. Add a Model H four minute reproducer at some point and you're prepared for any kind of record Edison might throw at you. Price includes five nice 2 minute cylinders.

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Lynn Bilton
Box 435
Randolph,OH 44265
330 325-7866

We buy, sell, and repair antique phonographs and music boxes.

Pick-up and delivery possible in many parts of the midwest,south, and northeast.