A friend of mine, Al Sefl, co-authored with George L. Frow
"The Edison Cylinder Phonographs 1877-1929", George L. Frow Sevenoaks,
Kent, England, 1978.

Al had this to say regarding a couple of recent postings on the Edison
subject.  While Al is not (yet) on MMD, his knowledge on the subject of
Edison cannot be ignored.

Tom DeLay

From Mr. Sefl:

 - - -

1. Edison Kinetophone With 5" Cylinder Phonograph  (Jim Crank)

Jim Crank is mistaken about the Concert 5" cylinder being used for the
first talking picture.  It was a longer celluloid 4" special cylinder
that was blow molded from celluloid stock into the record mold then
given a plaster core.  The plastic cylinder was louder and the
phonograph behind the screen had a very effective mechanical amplifier.

The [waxed] cord was used to start, stop, and to adjust the speed of
the machine, this is where everything became a laughable disaster.
Electric motors with speed controls were fixed to Edison Type C
Kinetoscopes (I have one) but there is virtually no hope in getting the
two synchronized, as Jim points out.

As for the only example of a Projecting Kinetophone being in the
Eastman collection, there are some in private collections.  One is in
Los Angeles, one is in New Jersey, and one came out of the Sebastiani
Theater in Sonoma, after sitting back stage for the last 80 years.  ;-)
The Edison National Historical Site has one on exhibit.  The Ford Museum
HAD one but sold it off as they did not know what they had.

The main reason these machines are so scarce is that all of the rest
were recalled to the Edison factory to be "redesigned" using a
synchronizer and then the big fire came that wiped out the factory in
December of 1914.  They all burned.  Edison shelved the project for good
at that point.  Lucky for Wurlitzer!


2. Edison 5" Concert Cylinder Phonograph (Mike Knudson)

The wording is a little off on Mike's statement.  The Amberol records
did not cause Edison to cease production.  Lousy sales did.  There were
only about 5000 Concert machines made and the record market for these
was pretty thin.

All of the Concert machines pictured in the Frow book are my machines
if my memory serves.  The Concert machine is rare though I do have 5 of
them.  My most rare model is the 5" Oratorio which runs on low voltage
electric current.  The cutoff date for the Concert production was 1906,
not 1908.  As for records, these large wax records are easily broken
and they mildew if stored improperly.  I have some 3000 cylinders but
only 25 of the 5" Concert records.  They go at auction for about $80
and up when offered.

The companion book by my friend George was a new enlarged edition of
The Edison Cylinder Phonographs 1877-1929 by George and myself done in
1978.  The original now sells for about $100 on eBay.

The value of these Concert machines range from $3,500 to $15,000 in
good condition.  A modified machine with the small mandrel goes for
much less.  A machine that has a new reproduction 5" mandrel is also
downgraded in price and desirability.  Which Concert machine also
effects the price by date.  Early machines are the more common machines
while the late machine is virtually impossible to find.

Hope these rambling thoughts help,

Al Sefl
PipeOrgn@aol.com

P.S.:  Do you need any photos of these?