Restoration: Click on the link below to view notes about each stage of the restoration project.
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History of This Machine:
This console Cecilian phonograph was a gift from Jason and Sera Drevenick of Hedgesville, West Virginia. This phonograph was originally purchased new by Jason's grandparents and remained in his family until October 26, 2013 when I received it.
I asked Sera and Jason to give me some history of the original and only owners of this machine. On October 29, 2013 Sera writes, "My in-laws are digging up a photo of George and Lucy, but here are some basics. George's parents immigrated from Czechoslovakia and he was a machinist with the Army Corps of Engineers overseas, in Indonesia among other places. He and Lucy bought this farm [in Hedgesville, West Virginia] in 1961 and retired here. They farmed and George was a fiddle and mandolin player. After they died in the 80s and 90s, the house sat empty until this last December as their kids tried to figure out what to do with the property. Until the 1970s they didn't have power, and so listened to hand-cranked phonographs. I'll get you more when I see my in-laws this weekend. Sera"
I asked Sera and Jason to give me some history of the original and only owners of this machine. On October 29, 2013 Sera writes, "My in-laws are digging up a photo of George and Lucy, but here are some basics. George's parents immigrated from Czechoslovakia and he was a machinist with the Army Corps of Engineers overseas, in Indonesia among other places. He and Lucy bought this farm [in Hedgesville, West Virginia] in 1961 and retired here. They farmed and George was a fiddle and mandolin player. After they died in the 80s and 90s, the house sat empty until this last December as their kids tried to figure out what to do with the property. Until the 1970s they didn't have power, and so listened to hand-cranked phonographs. I'll get you more when I see my in-laws this weekend. Sera"
Click below to view the original manual, found inside the machine during restoration.
cecilian_phonograph_manual.pdf | |
File Size: | 4471 kb |
File Type: |
(found online) Ad of Cecilian Phonograph in Montgomery Ward catalog #87. 1917, p. 456
Page from the 1925-26 Montgomery Ward Catalog that I picked up on Ebay.
November 6, 2013: I suspect that my machine dates to the early 1920's. My machine looks very similar to the console in the advertisement below with the exception of the grill.