Columbia Home Grand Graphophone

A highlight in this collection's history was when Dad located a Columbia Home Grand Graphophone. This machine had been owned by one family since 1899. Stored in an attic and wrapped in newspapers which were dated 1933 it was a special moment to unpack the machine and 5" wax cylinder records. The 97-year-old gentleman whose parents had bought this machine when he was very young didn't remember hearing it very often but he was pretty sure they usually played it, at minimum, on Sunday afternoons or evenings.

You can see from our faces that we were pretty excited about this machine. Remember those smiles because they are symbolic of the fun we had for many decades collecting phonographia.

The Home Grand Graphophone Type AD and the Type HG were the most ornate machines made by Columbia.

The first Home Grand machines were sold with a 2-mainspring motor and a nickeled bedplate. Sometime in late 1899, it was redesigned with ornate, heavily carved pillared cabinet, with rope-like molding, and a six mainspring motor. The black chassis was decorated with red flowers and gold stems. It sold for $100.