1906 Columbia BGT Cylinder Phonograph W/Matching Spear Tip Wood Horn
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:44039321 |
If you're an uncompromising collector of antique technology, make sure to check out all my listings after you look at this one. I don't think you'll find a better, broader or more balanced assortment of technical antiques anywhere -- hundreds of no-reserve auctions each year, almost all of them featuring eye-popping "gee whiz" gadgetry in exceptional original condition. And don't forget, you can click this link to quickly add and then save me to your favorite ...seller list and Ebay will automatically send you updates when I put similar new auctions online.
Here's a 115-year-old Columbia BGT phonograph, Columbia's top-of-the-line rear mount cylinder phonograph. Among its features are a four-spring motor, a solid mahogany cabinet, a nickel-plated top works, a Lyric reproducer, and an extended mandrel large enough to accommodate both conventional 2-minute cylinders and Columbia's 6-inch "20th Century" cylinders.
As you can see in the pictures, the phonograph is gorgeous, having been the beneficiary of what -- in the world of vintage Ferraris, Maseratis, Aston Martins and Lambourghinis -- would be considered a frame-off concours restoration...to its original condition.
The topworks literally gleams. No pitting, no flaking, no corrosion, no issues. The extended-length mandrel is perfect -- no dings, no dents, no rotational eccentricity as it revolves. The carriage slides easily along the trunion rail, and the reproducer is not locked into the carriage head; it can be easily removed by loosening the thumbscrew. The huge motor and gearing are likewise in excellent condition, and the governor is working properly.
The solid mahogany cabinet is as stunning as the mechanism, with a grain pattern that's so pronounced it almost appears to be 3-dimensional. Not a trace of crazing or "alligatoring" anywhere.
The matching Columbia "Spear Tip" horn (also original) is as extraordinary as the machine, with a smooth original finish and no damage, no repairs, no splits in the rim, so ridge along the seam where it’s joined, etc.
The phonograph looks like new, it plays like new, and it needs nothing but a couple feet of real estate on your favorite cabinet or shelf.
I'll include a 2-minute Columbia cylinder so that you can enjoy the phonograph as soon as it arrives. If you're not already familiar with how to operate an early cylinder phonograph, don't worry. I'll provide you with simple, easy to understand set-up instructions.
I'm one of ebay's best known, most highly regarded sellers of collector quality phonographs. I've been selling and shipping them for more than 25 years. When you purchase an antique phonograph from me, you'll receive a phonograph that arrives safely because it's been carefully packed (by me, not by some well-intentioned but nonetheless confounded, doe-eyed teenager working at the UPS store who wouldn't know a phonograph from a farm tool), and you'll receive a phonograph that includes thorough but easy-to-understand set-up and operating instructions, so you won't be left scratching your head, trying to figure out how it works. Sure, you can probably get a lower price from Joe and Janet Barn-Find, but when your "bargain" arrives broken, and without any hint of how it works or how you might be able to put it back together, you'll realize that you really do get exactly what you pay for.
When you've finished checking out my ebay listings this week, take a look at my TechnoGallerie website, where you can buy hard-to-find antique phonographs, antique radios, antique cameras and other gadgets you're not likely to see anywhere else. New arrivals include an 1898 Edison Spring Motor Phonograph and a 1901 Eldridge Johnson Type M Victor phonograph. Just type TechnoGallerie in the address line of your web browser and hit the enter key. TechnoGallerie has a newsletter, too, and if you take a second to sign up for it, you'll receive an email update whenever I list something new on the site -- typically once a week.
