This is one of my babies from my collection and I dont think many of my dear fellow collectors from the Americas have seen such a machine as it was produced for the European market. The Edison Bell Elf is quite a scarce little machine. This example is not at all bad and has just a couple of areas which need to be worked on. Every element of the machine is original and correct, which goes for the reproducer, winding handle, paint job and case polish although the veneer on top of the case lid is very slightly rippled. The motor runs strongly but the jockey pulley (tightener) appears to be overly sprung and/or to be applying pressure to the wrong side of the drive belt. The drive belt on this particular machine is fairly narrow and needs to be replaced. I placed it beside a Standard D and B phonograph to show how tiny it is. The Edison Bell New Model reproducer is an original and not a composite, provable by the fact that the bell of the reproducer is engraved for the Edison Bell Company and not for the Edison Consolidated Phonograph Company, USA. When the machine was new, the mechanism was held into the case in an unusual way which has rarely survived intact in similar machines, and affects this one. The lower case has four circular depressions across the case corners into which originally were pushed four rubber bungs into which were cast vertical threaded rods which passed through the corners of the machines cast-iron topworks and were then capped with four threaded domed finger-tight nuts. With the passage of time, nearly all these rubbers have perished and the rods become lost. The iron top works are moulded to sit firmly inside the opening in the case, and many collectors choose to simply hold it tight with four wood screws.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 11:09:26 +0000
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