Forty Years In Collecting - Part 2
by Bas Ingrouille
Bas Ingrouille
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One
summer
while
visiting
Vancouver,
my daughter had cut out
an
ad
in
the
local
newspaper
advertising
a
battery-operated
phonograph.
The
ad
was
3
weeks
old,
but
I
phoned
about it
and
found it
was still
available
but
couldn't find much more about it on
the phone.
So I got
my daughter to
drive
me
downtown
to
a
car
wrecker's yard.
I
found the boss
and
he said he still
had it.
He
uncovered
a
Model
B
battery-operated
Edison
in
a solid,
heavy
leather
case.
The
case
was all
tooled.
It had an
8 volt battery
in it,
complete with reproducer
and
a plated
pipe
running
around half
of the case with
12 take offs
for
listening
ear
pieces, still
with
some of the earpieces.
They wanted
$100.00 for
it.
I finally
bought
it for $75.00.
He helped me to put
it in the car trunk - it weighed
75
pounds.
I
shipped it
home
by
freight, costing another $75.00.
I
cleaned and lubricated the machine,
cleaned the horsehide
case,
hooked
it up to
4 cells of
a
12 volt car
battery
and it ran and played.
I was fortunate in picking
up
2 special Columbia
phonographs,
one
in
the
shape
of
a
small
grand
piano,
another
built
into
the
drawer of a
3 foot square
mahogany
table
-
the
horn
telescoped
out
when
one
pulled
open
the
drawer
with the
mechanism inside.
I
ended
up
with
about
250
phonographs,
all
different -
several types
and models of Edison
Standards,
Firesides,
Homes,
Gems
(black
and
maroon),
Concert
and
Opera.
I had many models of Victor
from
models
1 to
6, table
models
and uprights.
I had Columbia disc
and cylinder models,
some key
wind
machines,
several
toy
models,
machines
that play 78's
and
have
35mm projectors built in.
I also
had
many
portables,
large
and
small,
Camera
phonographs,
Miki-Phone,
Stewart-Warner,
cast
iron
machines,
diamond
disc
machines -
table and upright,
Pathe machines,
etc., etc.
It
got
to
a
point
where
I
couldn't
find
a
machine
that
I
didn't
have
so
I
turned
to
collecting
music
boxes,
cylinder
and steel
disc
models,
large
and
small.
I also
had several
models
of parlour organs,
some with paper
rolls,
some
with steel
discs
and
some that played
wooden cobs.
Not
satisfied I started collecting old
telephones,
wall
and
table
and
candlestick models.
As a matter of
fact I still
have
a fair stock of
telephone parts.
I also purchased a large stock
of
phonograph
parts
originally
owned
by
a
man
who
operated
a
phonograph
repair business in the
1920's.
He had passed away but the
parts
were
stored
until
I
was
fortunate to purchase them from one
of his sons.
The repair business
had been located on Yonge Street at
McPherson
and
was
called
Best
Phonograph
Repair.
I
supplemented
these
parts
with
motors
that
I
purchased
and
overhauled.
I also
bought diaphragms, gasket material,
Edison belting and 1000's of three
sizes
of
needles.
Some parts
I
made myself or had cast for me.
I
rarely
was
stuck
for
parts
to
service a machine.
Hardly ever did
I
let
a
collector
down
needing
parts.
After
having
several
angina
heart attacks
in 1972, I decided I
had
better
liquidate
my
collections.
So I sold nearly all
my
phonographs,
music
boxes
and
telephones.
I turned over most of
my
repairs
to
Don
Woodrow
who,
being mechanically inclined, picked
up
the
knowledge
to
repair
machines.
Another
member
of
CAPS,
Tim
McPherson,
is
also
handy
at
repairing
most
phonographs.
I'm now nearly
76 years of age
and
with
my
heart
condition
I
decided to sell all
my
phonograph
parts.
I
attempted
to sell
them
locally but no one
who was capable
of
doing
the
repairs
had
the
capital
to
buy
them.
So
I
advertised
them
in
Antique
Phonograph Monthly
and had
several
replies.
Unfortunately
most
were
from California or the lower states
and
the
costs
to
transport
the
parts would have been too great.
I
had
one reply
from
a collector in
Michigan
who
raised
the
necessary
capital and on November 29,
1985 he
came to
Scarborough
and picked them
up.
He is a member of the Michigan
Antique
Phonograph
Society
and has
been repairing
machines of his
own
and
some collectors's
and
antique
dealer's.
He
was limited only
by
lack of parts and
now he can help
his
fellow
members of the Michigan
society.
I wish him good luck with
them.
I
was
sorry to
see
them
leave
Canada
but it
couldn't
be
helped.
He left
my home all smiles
like
he
had
just
found
buried
treasure.
I'm going to miss helping
our
members
with their
purchases
that
needed some repairs
and parts.
But
all good things must
come to an end
some time.
Maybe
now I can clean
up part of
my cellar and garage!
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