1898 Columbia Q Phonograph w/Exceptional St. Louis & Kansas City Dealer's Decal For Sale

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Here's a beautiful little Columbia Q Graphophone in excellent working condition. It was sold by the Eckland Phonograph Company, a large midwestern phonograph jobber based in Chicago, with retail outlets in New York, St. Louis, Kansas City and Milwaukee. As you can see in the pictures posted above, Eckland's striking gold and black dealer's decal is emblazoned across the top front face of the cabinet. The decal is big,bold, artfully rendered and impossible to overlook. It was also very much a rarity in the world of early cylinder phonographs, where (typically) only the names of the manufacturers were permitted to be permanently displayed on merchandise.
Measuring just 10" wide by 7" deep by 7" high (with the lid in place) the Columbia Q was the company's smallest cased cylinder machine, and though it was sufficiently compactto fit in a curio cabinet or on a bookshelf. it was not a toy. In fact, almost any wax cylinder that could be played on a full size phonograph could also be played on the Q.
The example you see here is in excellent operating condition (check out the video I've posted above), and it will arrive at your doorstep ready to play and enjoy.
The motor -- though pint-sized -- is still hearty, and the governor keeps the mandrel spinning at a steady speed. The large diaphragm floating reproducer is much more dynamic than the earlier Q reproducers, and cylinders played on this machine sound good, despite the fact that the phonograph itself is a fraction of the size of most cylinder machines.
Original cabinet finish, original cabinet hardware, and the lid still screws securely to the base.
The metal parts are clean, with a minimal amount of tarnish, and the phonograph can make it all the way through a cylinder without needing be additionally wound.If you've been hunting for a really nice, working cylinder phonograph to occupy a small space in your home or office, this little Q is worth considering.
The 10" nickel horn is an excellent replica that came from North Carolina's "The Phonograph Shop." It's almost indistinguishable from an original 10" nickel horn except that it doesn't look like it just pulled up from the bottom of Lake Michigan.
I'll include an early black wax cylinder, so the phonograph will be ready to enjoy as soon as it arrives. If you get tired of listening to the cylinder, there are plenty of other titles available on and elsewhere. The machine plays Edison cylinders too, along with those made by Oxford, Lakeside, etc. And if you're not already familiar with how to operate an early cylinder phonograph, don't worry. I'll provide you with simple, easy to understand set-up instructions, so you'll be able to use it within minutes after you unpack it and put it together
Overall, a super nice little phonograph that's ready to go and requires no restoration or servicing.
I'm one of 's best known, most highly regarded sellers of antique phonographs. I've been sellingand shippingthem for more than 25 years. When you purchase an antique phonograph from me, you'll receive a phonograph that arrives safely because it's been carefully packed (byme, not by some well-intentioned but nonetheless confounded, doe-eyed teenager working at the UPS store who wouldn't know a phonograph from a fire extinguisher), and you'll receive a phonograph that includes thorough but easy-to-understand set-up and operating instructions, so you won't be left scratching your head, trying to figure out how it works. Sure, you can probably get a lower price from Joe and Janet Barn-Find, but when your "bargain" arrives broken, and without any hint of how it works or how you might be able to put it back together, you'll realize that you really do get exactly what you pay for.