i believe these were at the whim of the individual worker. this technique is not exclusive to Edison or to phonographs - it was just a common decorative finish of the early 20th century, and the patterns were hand applied. i had it explained to me once...something to do with selective blocking of the oxidation process by putting on a coating of some sort, which allowed the copper underneath to be revealed as a pattern. On Jun 23, 2007, at 1:16 PM, Robert Wright wrote: > I was starting to wonder about this myself! Seems like there were > at least two if not three variations of the oxidized bronze finish > -- the Idelia's tiger stripes, the Opera's broken glass pattern, > and the ringlet finish in these pictures of Andy's DD reproducer. > Any specifics on these patterns, or was all that info lost in the > fire as well? > > > Best, > Robert > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: <gpaul2000 at aol.com> > To: <phono-l at oldcrank.org> > Sent: Saturday, June 23, 2007 1:11 PM > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] DD Metal Finishes > > >> >> Bruce, >> The Edison catalogs described the finish of the metal parts on the >> Amberola IA/IB, Idelia, A-150, etc as "oxidized bronze." You point >> out that "This has a body that is almost black with copper >> markings, somewhat like tiger markings." Edison literature called >> it "oxidized bronze," so that's what I have always called it. I >> have observed collectors refer to "gunmetal" as "oxidized bronze" >> and apply the name to other metal finishes as well. It's no wonder >> some confusion exists! >> >> George Paul >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _____________________________________________________________________ >> ___ >> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's >> free from AOL at AOL.com. >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org