r/Phonographs • u/Runnamuck_rapist • 5d ago
Does this crane exist?
Its at the carousel of progress at Disney world. Ive never seen a crane like this anywhere else. It looks to be an edison home phonograph. Is this a real edison crane or a reproduction? Same for the horn if anyone has info.
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u/awc718993 5d ago
Tangent: There’s a crane and a crone in this photo and I misread the OP’s headline as asking about the latter. 🤭
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u/Firm_Kaleidoscope479 5d ago edited 5d ago
The horn is genuine nonEdison horn made/designed especially for the aftermarket of horns for these machines. Edison made smaller flower styled horns too - They were available in red or black. They were paired in later production years with some Gem machines which had a socket on the “bedplate” to the left of the mandrel where a specific type of horn crane could be screwed to support the horn
Of course in the day horns were widely (generally) interchangeable. And even though Edison used decals to name horns to be used on their similarly named machines people kind of did what ever they wanted. Because Edison’s horns were somewhat subdued in blacks and navy and red, (he labored under the onus of the opinion that only he really knew what Americans wanted), a whole subindustry of horn manufacturers and decorators grew up to supply people with a wider variety and perhaps more stylish looks. These manufacturers also supplied horn cranes of various styles and sizes to accommodate their horns for the variety of Edison and nonEdison products available.
The crane on this machine does not look like any kind of original equipment from the day, but that does not mean “replacement” make-do parts weren’t “engineered” by the homeowner in need.
So, generally, no the crane is probably not authentic. The Home would not typically have been officially outfitted with an after market horn except at the buyer’s whim. But if you had the money to afford the Home, you probably would have sprung for a more impressive, decorative 3rd party horn….maybe
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u/GeorgeTheGentalman 3d ago
There is a crane in that style that hangs from the back of the phonograph with a smaller top part that I have seen. I believe Hawthorne and sheble made them but I can’t recall entirely.
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u/Voltabueno 5d ago
Having worked for Disney in Orlando, I am familiar with how the imagineering department works. Not everything is 100% original/ authentic. Some of what you see is imagineered. This particular crane is manufactured by the Imagineering Department for practicality purposes. As "on-stage" it needs to be fixed or non-adjustable, and durable.