1899 Standard Polyphone Double-Bell Cylinder Phonograph * No Replica Parts
$7,500.00
Ships Worldwide.
In the late 1890’s the Talking Machine Company of Chicago began to market double-belled “Polyphones” which they claimed were twice as loud as conventional phonographs and “many times more musical.”
Sold as a complete phonograph, but built on a “base” of an Edison Standard or an Edison Home, the Polyphone had a heavily nickeled carriage that accommodated two specially-designed Automatic reproducers spaced far enough apart to provide a slight echo that, the company maintained, both beautified the sound and doubled its volume.
Because Polyphone carriages were somewhat more elaborate than conventional carriages, the Polyphone’s proprietary funnel horns were out of necessity thin and very light, since typical brass horns would weigh the carriage down to the point where it couldn’t move.
So that’s the back story on the Polyphone.
The front story — on this particular Polyphone — is that it’s in excellent condition, and it’s original throughout, including the Polyphone funnel horns (with their original integral elbows), the coupling loops for the horns, the horn paint (yes, it’s worn in areas, but you never see Polyphone horns with original paint on them — they’ve all been repainted), the original Polyphone carriage, the original Polyphone Automatic Sound Boxes, etc. The Edison Standard upon which the Polyphone is built is likewise in excellent condition, with a beautiful cabinet, a clean original finish, strong original pinstriping everywhere, glossy black enamel on the bedplate.
If you’re looking for a Polyphone and don’t care to compromise on originality, it really doesn’t get much better than this.
The phonograph is in excellent working order, and yes — it plays more or less as designed. Not twice as loud as a phonograph with just a single horn and reproducer, but with a clearly discernable echo/reverb that’s about as close as anyone in 1899 could have come to what would be known 60 years later as the “stereo” experience.
Available
