Edison Phonograph Serial Number List

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Edison Diamond Discs: 1912 - 1929

Each was designed with a specific purpose and in some instances using the incorrect one can damage or destroy irreplaceable recordings. I will attempt to describe all of the reproducers (and recorders) associated with the Edison line of entertainment phonographs produced from the mid-1890's until the closure of the phonograph works in 1929. See my article Pipe Organ Artists and Recordings on the Edison Label for additional information on Edison phonographs and records. In the year 1919 my Great Uncle, Mr. Leon Densmore of Perry, Ohio, purchased a brand new Model C19 (Chippendale) Edison Diamond Disc Phonograph, which was an upgrade of the earlier C-250 model.

Edison / Victrola / Graphophone / +ALL! Our workshop is truly one of a kind, working ONLY on antique phonograph reproducers, and the most challenging repairs. To play, press and hold the enter key. A lot of two Thomas Edison phonographs. Each having plates noting serial numbers, one marked for Signet II. The cased phonograph: 14.5' x 18' x 12.25' The second phonograph: 14' x 18' x 12'. Here is a edison amberola opera phonograph mechanism. The motor is a good motor.just needs a governor. It looks like this one is from a amberola b but will work on several machines. The serial number is #4317 - b1. You can see the bed plate paint is in still decent shape. This is is very nice start here to a very nice machine.

  • by Tim Gracyk

Diamond Discs--I love 'em! Non-collectors who come across Edison discs characterize these records by their thickness. 'I saw some old records that are a quarter of an inch thick,' they tell me. Yes, they are thick! Diamond Discs were a unique product in the record industry. They were NOT like Victor or Columbia products during the same era.. Some songs and artists are the same as what we find on Victor and Columbia records, but the technology differs, the same way Beta differs from VHS (remember Beta back in the 1980s?), or DVD differs from VHS, or Apple computers differ from IBM (not compatible!).

Dealers and beginning collectors should know at least this ONE THING about Diamond Discs. Edison's discs cannot be played on Victrolas--I mean those wonderful cabinet machines made by the Victor Talking Machine Company. I define 'Victrola' here since some people use this same term for Edison phonographs, a common mistake.

Here is another crucial fact. Steel needles will NOT play a Diamond Disc! You need a diamond stylus!

Moreover, Victor products cannot be played on an Edison discmachine unless the machine has a special adapter. Edison'scompany made 'lateral' soundboxes (to play non-Edisondiscs, such as Victor 78s--Diamond Discs are called'vertical'). They originally sold for $1.50 but arerare today. The Victor company never made such adapters. Varioussmall companies also made such adapters. Sadly, the adaptersusually perform poorly.

To play Diamond Discs on vintage equipment (they play at 80rpm), one must use a diamond stylus designed by Edison engineers.A diamond stylus lasts a long time but not forever, so today'sEdison machine owner should inspect the stylus to see if it needsreplacing. The radius for Edison styli is 3.5 mils or .0035inches (according to files at the Edison National Historic Site),though some collectors claim that 3.3 mils also gets goodresults.

Edison discs are as interesting as Blue Amberol cylinders. Youfind some of the same performances on each since Edison dubbedfrom discs onto cylinders using a horn-to-horn process, with thefirst dubbings released in January 1915.

For four decades, beginning in 1877, Edison was committed tocylinders, which created an opportunity for Emile Berliner todevelop a market in America for discs in the 1890s (Berliner'scompany evolved into the Victor company). Finally, Edison decidedthat he was ready to enter the disc market though he also issuedcylinders since they were very profitable (cylinders cost verylittle to make--Edison discs were relatively expensive toproduce). Diamond Discs were issued from 1912 to 1929.

Edison Phonograph Serial Number List

You can determine the decade in which an Edison disc wasmanufactured by knowing about the two basic labels. From 1912 tomid-1921, Edison relied on 'molded labels.' A preparedplate was pressed into the record surface, leaving an engravedimpression. Most are solid black and are notoriously hard to readexcept for the very early issues that have a gray background thathighlights the lettering (this was too expensive andtime-consuming, and was dropped from the production line).

Then, beginning in mid-1921, paper labels were used on DiamondDiscs. The Edison Company was better than other companies atkeeping popular titles in stock, so songs recorded in the 'teenswere often available into the 1920s and can be found with paperlabels as well as on discs featuring the earlier engravedsurface.

Edison would have switched to paper earlier except forproblems with 'pressure-bonding' paper labels to thedisc. Edison's first paper label came out on June 6, 1921(#50818--'Sunnyside Sal'). The label problem was notlicked since paper labels fall off Edison discs easily, and if alabel is gone, identifying a record is hard (though notimpossible)! Labels never fall off my Victor or Columbia 78swhereas I have glued many labels back onto Edison discs. Why didEdison not use the label technology used by other companies? Isuppose to avoid paying for technology patented by others.

The company at first stamped issue numbers on the edge of theDiamond Disc, like a number in the 50,000 series for popularsongs. You need thick records to do that! Actually, this was aproblem since moisture could enter the records through thesestamped numbers, and you never want Diamond Discs to get wet!They are so thick that I have never seen a broken Diamond Disc,but they warp if exposed to water, so don't wash them.

Need to clean a Diamond Disc? You may use tissue paperdampened with unscented rubbing alcohol. Quickly dry the record.Sadly, some surfaces have bad lamination cracks and areunplayable.

Although they may look pristine, some Edison discs have badsurfaces, which you discover as you play them. Ones from theearliest years and from the 1920s have better surfaces--andbetter sound--than discs made around 1917-1920, the peak years ofproduction. Wartime shortages affected quality and there areother reasons why quality was not consistent. Surfaces onpre-1916 discs are smooth since condensite was applied to asmooth Celluloid base bonded to a wood 'flour' core.Discs made from around 1917 to 1920 had an overly thin coat ofcondensite (maybe 'Condensite' with a capital letter?)sprayed onto a rough core. When output was high, few coats ofcondensite varnish were applied because of time needed for drying(when output was low--such as around 1921-1922, when the economywas in recession--more coats could be applied). There is noshellac in a Diamond Disc, unlike in Victor discs.

According to Ron Dethlefson, the expert on Edison discs andBlue Amberol cylinders ('rdeth@pacbell.net'), DiamondDisc cores were made from finely ground wood flour (not coarsesawdust, as some have speculated) together with an asphalticbinder. In 1921 the core or 'powder blank' compositionwas changed to include china clay and lesser amounts of woodflour. This was done because it was found that wood flourabsorbed moisture readily whereas china clay did not. The chinaclay cores did provide protection from moisture. Torture tests atthe Edison Lab revealed that these records could stay submergedin water for 15-20 minutes before moisture damage. However, thechina clay discs were heavier. Ron wrote to me via email,'Pity the poor dealer who had to pay still higher shippingcosts for his Diamond Discs after 1921!'

Collectors seek early classical Edison discs in original andfancy cardboard boxes (very rare!). Most discs came in sleeves or'jackets,' many of which discussed artists and songsalthough these notes were gone by 1921. On early discs someartists go unidentified, with the record merely saying'baritone' or 'soprano.' This allowed Edisonto change artists but not change labels! If you need an artistidentified, drop me a message and I can identify that artist foryou.

The discs are ten inches but can hold more music than 12 inchdiscs made by other companies. Some Diamond Discs play up to fiveminutes per side. If you find a 12 inch Edison disc made in 1926,it is a long-playing record, or 'LP.' It plays up to 40minutes and is a valuable item.

Clean Edison discs can sound great, but many collectorscomplain that the music is dull. Perhaps much music on DiamondDiscs won't suit the typical listener, but it is a myth thatEdison never recorded good dance music or blues or jazz.Excellent dance titles, blues numbers, and jazz tunes can befound on Edison discs. 'Hot' numbers may not pop up asoften as a Walter Van Brunt disc or a waltz, but Edison didrecord artists such as Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams andEva Taylor, Red Nichols, Josie Miles, and other greats. Edisondeserves more credit for recording blues and hot jazz artiststhan some collectors today give him.

Until 1924 or so, the busy Thomas A. Edison personally decidedwhat was issued, approving or rejecting takes. He preferredsimple melodies and basic harmonies, disliking jazz, dissonance,loud accompaniment. This created tension at the Edison company,with the A & R staff fighting with Edison over choices oftitles issued.

There are countless exceptions to the claim made by some thatDiamond Discs, especially in the first decade, are dull. MyDiamond Discs give me great pleasure, starting with the veryfirst one issued in the popular series: Collins and Harlansinging 'Moonlight in Jungleland' (50001, the beginningof the 50000 series, recorded in 1912).

Many discs offer great performances of classical music, withsome opera discs being highly collectible. Fine singers who madeEdison discs include Claudia Muzio, Frieda Hempel, and the tenorsZenatello, Martinelli, and Urlus. Great instrumentalists madeEdison discs. The pianist Rachmaninoff made Edison discs and wasvery proud of them.

Some jazz and blues performances are so 'hot' that Iwonder if marketing folks at the Edison site had to sneak theserecords past the inventor as he napped. I mean not only JosieMiles and Fletcher Henderson but also Red & Miff's Stompers,the Five Harmaniacs, Viola McCoy, Chas. Matson's CreoleSerenaders. I think by this time, the A & R staff'won' the battle with Edison since he stoppedinterfering with what titles were issued.

Don't mistake a band called Earl Oliver's Jazz Babies for KingOliver's classic band since this is a Harry Reser outfit. Reser'sdiscs are fun, which is true for other 'common' artistslike Billy Murray and Ada Jones. Walter Van Brunt appears oftensince Edison loved this tenor's voice. B.A. Rolfe made superbdance band records. By 1929, Rolfe was getting $1000 per side,making his orchestra Edison's highest paid musical group.

A Collins and Harlan disc (#50423) is the first ever tomention the new word 'jazz.' 'That Funny Jas BandFrom Dixieland,' which satirizes the jazz played in cafes,was recorded on December 1, 1916, months before the first jazzrecord was issued! Listen to the different takes from thisrecording session and you'll hear interesting variations in theEdison studio musicians attempting to play 'jass'!

For more information about Edison discs, I recommend books byRon Dethlefson. Sadly, his books about Edison discs are out ofprint. He hopes to have at least one of the books published in anew edition after he finishes his current project, a history ofthe Pathe company.

Thomas A. Edison was amazing. He invented the phonograph in1877 and made countless improvements despite being fundamentallydeaf (actually, until 1905 he had much of his hearing but afteran ear infection and operation, he could hear almost nothing).Edison himself saw nothing ironic about working closely withsound, claiming that he was driven to improve the phonographuntil the results satisfied his defective hearing. He alsoimproved the telephone transmitter.

Edison made good profits. Some record collectors say he wasout of touch to make cylinders as late as 1929 but they forgetthat Edison was making profits from cylinders for much ofthe1920s! However, he made some bad business decisions. Forexample, until 1928 he was against the idea that his companyshould enter the new radio market. For years his odd opinionsabout music influenced what was released on records, which madehis company less successful than market-driven companies likeVictor and Columbia. The fact that a deaf and musically untrainedEdison decided (along with a committee) what music was issued byhis company is testimony to--well, I dislike the word'pigheadedness' since I admire Edison, so let's say hecould be wrong and stubborn.

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Edison scoffed when Victor and Columbia switched in 1925 to anelectric recording process, or the microphone. Theodore Edisonrecalled his deaf father listening to competitors' electricalrecordings with volume all the way up, which distorted sound. Theson stated in an interview, 'He became so deaf that hecouldn't hear that good electrical reproduction waspossible.' Edison let business be hurt by his faultyhearing.

Edison's company eventually made changes to keep up withcompetitors, even by late 1927 adopting the electric recordingprocess and by 1929 making 'needle-type' discs thatcould be played on competitors' equipment. Look hard for the52,000 series. Sadly, changes came too late. When the last Edisonrecords were issued in late 1929 (cylinders ceased with the June1929 list), an era came to an end.

I have to agree with Jim Walsh, a writer who is widelyregarded as this century's authority on acoustic era recordingartists. He claimed that nothing sounds better than a cleanDiamond Disc played on a well-restored Edison machine. Only thebest Victor machines matched the Diamond Disc machine, and noother machines came close. I have listened to some carefullyrestored machines (my reproducers have been lovinglyserviced--and only a few people are qualified to do this trickywork), and sound is spectacular. It is like having the singers inyour living room! Edison's tone-tests in the late 'teens and theearly 1920s were successful because the machines really did soundlike the artists who were standing next to the machines. Theartists would sing, then the machine would play, then the lightswould go out and the audience had to guess who or what was doingthe singing. It was a remarkable way to sell a machine!

Some of the First Diamond Discs

Edison Phonograph Serial Number List Pdf

Below are some of the first DiamondDiscs from the company's popular 50,000 series. The indexdescribed above is much more informative than the list below--butthe titles, artists, and numbers below may interest people whodon't care to get the detailed Diamond Disc index.

'50001','BELOW THE MASON-DIXONLINE','Reed','ARTHUR COLLINS'

'50001','MOONLIGHT INJUNGLELAND','Dempsey-Schmid','COLLINS &HARLAN'

'50043','AS WE PARTED AT THE GATE,'HINDERMYER & D. CHALMERS

'50043','CLOSE TOTHEE','Crosby-Vail','YOUNG &WHEELER'

'50051','FAIREST ROSEWALZE','Engelmann','CHARLES DAAB(Xylophone)'

'50051','L'ELEGANTEPOLKA','Damar'82','CHARLES DAAB(Xylophone)'

'50052','APPLEBLOSSUMS','Roberts','AMERICAN SYMPHONYORCHESTRA'

'50052','FLOWERSONG','Lange','VENETIAN INSTRUMENTALQUARTET'

'50053','BROKENHEART','Gillet','STRING QUINTET &HARP'

'50053','LARGO','Handel','AMERICANSYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'

'50054','BEAR'SOIL',','GOLDEN & HUGHES'

'50054','TWOPOETS',','GOLDEN & HUGHES'

'50055','MY LADYLU','Brill','WALTER VAN BRUNT'

'50055','SOMEDAY','Wellings','ELIZABETH SPENCER'

'50056','MY UNCLE'SFARM',','GOLDEN & HUGHES'

Edison Phonograph Serial Number List Free

'50056','THESHIPMATES',','GOLDEN & HUGHES'

'50058','FOROSETTA---Tarantella','Arditi','AMERICANSYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'

Edison Phonograph Serial Number List

'50058','SOUTHERN ROSESWALTZ','Strauss','AMERICAN SYMPHONYORCHESTRA'

'50060','MASA'S IN DEL COLD, COLDGROUND','Foster','METROPOLITAN QUARTET'

'50060','OLD FOLKS ATHOME','Foster','CHRISTINE MILLER'

You should look for a copy of the complete and accurate Indexof Diamond Discs, which lists all of the thick discsmade by Thomas A. Edison's company from 1912 to 1929. This bookis about 300 pages (9 inches by 11 inches paper, spiral binding)and it lists every Diamond Disc issued. Thousands of titles arelisted numerically, beginning with 50001 from 1912('Moonlight in Jungleland' and 'Below theMason-Dixon Line') through 52651, the last of the DiamondDiscs issued in 1929 (this features Vaughn de Leath). Also in theindex are the classical and semi-classical 80,000 and 82,000records. Even the 57000 series (German), 58000 (French), 59000(Scandinavian), etc.

Edison Phonograph Serial Numbers

Demonstration, special purpose, and samplerecords are listed (for example, the rare 'Holiday Greetingsfrom the Bunch at Orange' with Edison's own voice--issued in1924). Edison's rare lateral cut records are here, too. At theend of the book is an index of Edison's musical artists (thistells you which artists are on which Diamond Discs, usefulinformation for any serious collector). Other information in thebook: matrix numbers, date when the disc was issued, date whendisc was deleted from the catalog. For example, Diamond Disc50194, 'He's a Rag Picker,' sung by the PeerlessQuartet, was available from October 1914 until June 1919--BillyMurray sings 'California and You' on the reverse side.There is even an indication of which side was intended by thecompany to be the 'A' side and 'B' side(information not on all of the discs themselves--but the'R' means 'right side,' or 'A'side, and 'L' means 'left side,' or'B' side!). A wonderful yet elusive reference book--anice index was added by someone (the original lacked this index),so this copy of the Diamond Disc book is actually more usefulthan the original from the 1970s.