The top of the lid is a sheet of ply wood, I have the upright floor version of this machine, also called The Favorite, from 1915, mine still has the sticker on the bottom of the cabinet with the original price of $95. 00, I paid 75 for mine in 2016
$2,853.41 in 2023 dollars, I had earlier thought it was $75, but that's what you paid in 2016. Not a bad price for one with good potmetal and presentable cabinet then. Plywood, sort of like a veneer then, but probably cheaper and stronger. Mine also has the sticker on the bottom panel. That panel looks so clean and new I at first thought it had been replaced except it has inspection stamps and that pasted on patent sticker.
@@Rockisland1903 It actually had a lot of water damage, the veneer on the record storage compartment is loose and separated from the solid wood panels, the knob on the crank handle is missing, using a old spool now, motor finally runs somewhat smooth and quiet, the three springs have been replaced as well
It appears to be a model 50, from 1915. The 4 pillers do the final id, or I would have said it was Jewell, from the year before. So, it is a model 50, which the Columbia catalog calls the most popular instrument in the entire industry.. It's original price is $50. It is available in several oak finishes as well as mahogany.. It was the first Columbia that I found in the wild back in about 1988.
Thank you for the information. By the sound of it they chose to name the model after it's selling price like Victor did with some of their portables like the VV-50. Fifty bucks doesn't sound like much today, but in 1915 according to the inflation calculator this would be equivalent to $1,501.80 in 2023 US dollars. That's like buying the newest iphone today. $2252.70 for the $75 floor model
The model 50 was first known as the 'Favorite'. The earliest versions (1911) had Victrola-style doors over the horn, until Victor threatened to sue; so Columbia went over to the louvers, or 'tone leaves'. Another early model, the 'Elite', had an unusual volume control that resembled the 'register' of a coal stove...
Last February I bought a similar model, the Columbia D-2, it has a perfect tone arm! (but the cabinet is so far gone I will need to refinish it) I bought it for 50$ because it had a broken motor and non-rebuilt reproducer. It has a really annoying three spring motor (that has a broken spring) and I can't for the life of me manage to get the spring cans apart ( I am still very new to the hobby, as I have only been collecting for a 2 years) so in the basement it sits until I can figure out how to fix it.
Basements are known to be damp places, very bad for the potmetal tonearm. Take the arm off and store it upstairs, it's value is over what you paid for the machine given that it is not stuck. I don't remember how the Columbia barrels come apart, bad considering I have done at least ten of them over the years including that AH horn machine. It will come back to me when I dig into the motor, I don't recall it being difficult. Difficult I would remember.
@@Rockisland1903 Thank you for the comment! I have a dehumidifier constantly running in the basement to make sure that things like that don't happen as it would be awful to have something made of potmetal crumble because I did something stupid. hopefully I can get my columbia back up and singing while I have more time to tinker in the summer.
Sounds like the motor needs a full service possibly even weak springs in there. Remember also that a dirty or badly worn record can have this effect on any of these mechanical photographs.
What a great find! My friend, (with PhD in Chemistry) told me that pot metal itself ages fine, what is killing it (permanently changing the structure) is the moisture. Greetings from City build on the swamps - Chicago.
Oh yes, I know what the damp does to everything metal, especially potmetal. I was into antique cars for a long time, and spent a fortune having potmetal parts repaired over the years. Now my remaining cars and trucks have no potmetal to speak of on them. This Columbia was produced here in the northeast, and has stayed within fifty miles or so of it's factory in Bridgeport Connecticut, 39.9 miles to be exact, since it was new. Given the stinking humidity we get here every summer for the last 108 years, most of them without air conditioning, I am always surprised to find any potmetal anything that is not showing signs of deterioration.
