1910-12 Columbia BI/BII Phonograph With Music Master Wood Horn & Triple-Spring Motor
$3,750.00
Ships Worldwide.
Very late (ca. 1910-12) Columbia BI “Sterling” Disc Phonograph with an original 22″ Music Master wood horn.
This phonograph is — in a word — stunning. It’s also very scarce. It was manufactured at the tail end of the BI’s production run and shares several traits with its successor, the BII “Improved Sterling,” including — most remarkably — a massive, horizontally-mounted triple spring motor that bears no resemblance to the comparatively tiny two-spring motor found in almost all other iterations of the BI. It features both styles of cabinet decals — the early banner style on the side (where a decorative handle is typically found on a BI), and the later Columbia logo on the front.
Condition is outstanding. The turntable felt has been replaced, and there are some areas of light pitting and plating wear on the back-bracket/tonearm assembly, but by and large the plating is still bright and beautiful (it wasn’t called the “Sterling” for nothing). The cabinet finish is original, and it’s still smooth and glossy. The original cabinet decals are nearly perfect — crisp and complete, with no scarring.
The mechanism is spotless, the motor runs quietly, and the gears exhibit minimal wear. Original Analyzing reproducer (professionally rebuilt), with its unique (and still working) Dolcher volume control on the back of its housing.
The Music Master oak horn is original and, as you can see, it’s gorgeous. Its varnished surfaces have been fine-sanded to eliminate residual crazing and then hand-waxed and buffed out to a warm luster. All of the horn’s seams are tight, and all of the panels are perfectly formed. There are no rim splits, no bubbling, no damage, no repairs, no issues. It’s a spectacular horn sitting atop a spectacular phonograph.
This Disc Graphophone is in a league of its own. Its equal is not likely to surface anytime soon.
SOLD
