Wind Up Toys

We just held our annual gathering of friends - whom I subjected to a 2 wind up cabinet gramaphones and a journey back through the sounds of yesteryear!

The first is a 1920's British Gilbert low boy, featuring a long play motor and a tin plate diaphram housed in mother or pearl on a nickel horn playing into a hidden fabricated steel cone - truely the Rolls-Royce of gramaphones!

The second is a 1910 American Emmerson upright, featuring a long play motor and a mica diaphram housed in a cadmium plated horn, playing into a hidden wooden cone - sounds amazing!

Both are bereft of auto features - on / off - horn up / down except for a strong winding handle! The records are bakelite or shellac and wear harder than steel - each play takes the tip off the needle and you replace it for each record! The playing volume is increased by using a thicker needle - they come in three thicknesses / tones...The phrase "put a sock in it" comes from a technique used on these devices to soften hiss - these have eaten my odd socks (into the throat of the horn).

So as far as tunes go we started with last available 78 speed electronic recordings of Elvis, Pres Prado (Guaglionne) and the Every Brothers (walking in a winter wonderland) - then a few holiday classics including Bing - White Christmas.

Most of my records are British - including full sets of Goonshow and George Formby :D

Then we hit the 40's tunes - Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Parlophone "Rhythym" series - dated 1941 - Basin Sr Blues and Chicken Gumboogie - inspiring sounds considering the state of Europe at that time.

Then further back to compare the great tenors of the generations - Caruso, Tauber and Lanza - La Donna et Mobile etc - the Caruso record is about 100 years old, its cut into a 1/4" thick disk and is single sided (they were still flat back then) - the sounds of this could have graced officers portable units in the rear positions of the great war.

I was tempted to lean my P14 against the Emmerson for the photo...I have some MP3 recordings somewhere that I may be able to get to the screening room if there is interest and time:cheers:

My grandmother collected the players that used a metal "record" with little slots cut into them. She had dozens of them at one point. As far as I know, all were sold when she passed away.

Hi Aragorn! - the metal disc players are awesome! The metalic sounding tunes appeal to some = music box / fair sounds. I am up to five 78 players of different types - with around 400 records - which half fill one room - that's enough for me (need to downsize eventually - else somebody will have the problem of inheriting them). Mrs Breakdown loves the music box style players and I have come close to several over the years - not meant to be though. One of the largest was a Victorian "penny in the slot" upright player - the original entertainment center - with several discs at auction. Its good to remember family and their music as they enjoyed it - a lot of the stuff I have has that "family" connection. Happy New Year!