Antique Columbia Eagle Phonograph. USA-France, Circa 1897

Antique Columbia Eagle type B phonograph made in France under Columbia Licence circa 1897, in good conditions and working. This is a model which the company manufactured exclusively for the French market. It comes with a horn and an adapted reproducer manufactured by the Parisian firm Pathé, which are not original to the model but are suitable for it. The phonograph is composed of a light-colored solid wooden box and a zinc horn, both finely preserved. The box maintains the original satin finish and is decorated with a gorgeous brand decal, depicting a parchment with the word GRAMOPHONE and an allegoric female figure. The decal is in good condition, complete and with just very slightly signs of wear on the left side. The support for the cylinders has an engraved inscription with the name of the manufacturing company and their offices all around the world. Precisely, this phonograph was sold by the Parisian office.The device is supplied with two cylinders of which one of them, the one photographed, is usable but has a crack and it is not known how long it can last. The other, the one shown in the video, is in good condition. This amazing Columbia Eagle phonograph is a real collectors piece, an old-time device as fine-looking as evocative. Dimensions: Box: Side: 12.40 in / 31.5 cm. Height: 5,31 in / 13.5 cm. Depth: 8.07 in / 20.5 cm. Horn: Mouths Width: 10.23 in / 26 cm. Columbia Gramophone Company History The Columbia Gramophone Company (first known as Columbia Phonograph Company) was one of the most important record companies of the world during the 20th century. It was also a pioneer in the manufacture and sale of phonographs and gramophones. In the beginning, in the 1880s they just sold phonographs in Washington; but in 1893 they merged with the American Graphophone Company and started producing phonograph cylinders. In the early 20th century a new competitor emerged: The Victor Talking Machine Company, specialized in the manufacture of phonograph cylinders. Columbia responded by producing both cylinders and records, though in a few years they eventually stopped making cylinders. In 1920 the introduction of radio broadcasting made the company success to decline; things were tough for Columbia until World War II, when it returned to prominence. In the late 1960s Columbia was renamed CBS Records and expanded rapidly. They created a new label, Epic, and in 1968 merged with the Sony Corporation. Together they launched the Compact Disc in 1982. Soon after Sony bought CBS Records; today, the label is still active as part of the Japanese corporation.