COLLECTING GRAMOPHONE NEEDLE TINS
Every time you played an old 78, you needed to put a new steel needle in to the soundbox. It was recommended that a new needle be used for every side of the record played. So a box of 100 or 200 needles would not last you long!
The volume could be varied by using needles of differing thickness (soft, medium and loud) - the thicker the needle, the louder the volume. There was no volume control on the gramophone itself. These needles came in many different designs of needle tins. The main producers were Great Britain (Redditch and Sheffield) and Germany. Thousands of different brands were produced over the years. The tins are small, with very attractive graphics and are eagerly sought after by needle tin, tin and gramophone collectors. Tins can sometimes be found inside machines, at collectors' fairs (advertising and gramophone fairs), on eBay, live auctions, and by swapping with other collectors.
You can find brands that were also makes of machines, such as Edison Bell, Columbia, and brands that were record names. The main common British tins were HMV, Songster, Embassy, Decca, Edison Bell, and Columbia, and each make would come in the usual different tones or volumes. Within each brand, there would sometimes be different designs, so Embassy, for example, has about five different designs - see pictures in the Needle Tin Calendar 200I.
HMV tins are the most recognizable ones, with the trademark dog and gramophone. Songster was advertised as the cheapest needle on the market - 3d. For 100. Embassy tins pictured gramophones or soundboxes, and its trademark 'Eye', and was the cheap brand sold at Woolworth's. Decca tins could also be found with a dealer’s name and address on the top lid. Edison Bell tins came in several different designs.
It's fairly easy to build up the base of a collection from just the six common brands. Many variations of colours, designs and tones are available.
For many pictures, and now an excellent reference, see the NEEDLE TIN CALENDAR 2001. There are over 400 British needle tins shown, with a whole month each of HMV, Songster and Embassy, showing the wide range available.
The volume could be varied by using needles of differing thickness (soft, medium and loud) - the thicker the needle, the louder the volume. There was no volume control on the gramophone itself. These needles came in many different designs of needle tins. The main producers were Great Britain (Redditch and Sheffield) and Germany. Thousands of different brands were produced over the years. The tins are small, with very attractive graphics and are eagerly sought after by needle tin, tin and gramophone collectors. Tins can sometimes be found inside machines, at collectors' fairs (advertising and gramophone fairs), on eBay, live auctions, and by swapping with other collectors.
You can find brands that were also makes of machines, such as Edison Bell, Columbia, and brands that were record names. The main common British tins were HMV, Songster, Embassy, Decca, Edison Bell, and Columbia, and each make would come in the usual different tones or volumes. Within each brand, there would sometimes be different designs, so Embassy, for example, has about five different designs - see pictures in the Needle Tin Calendar 200I.
HMV tins are the most recognizable ones, with the trademark dog and gramophone. Songster was advertised as the cheapest needle on the market - 3d. For 100. Embassy tins pictured gramophones or soundboxes, and its trademark 'Eye', and was the cheap brand sold at Woolworth's. Decca tins could also be found with a dealer’s name and address on the top lid. Edison Bell tins came in several different designs.
It's fairly easy to build up the base of a collection from just the six common brands. Many variations of colours, designs and tones are available.
For many pictures, and now an excellent reference, see the NEEDLE TIN CALENDAR 2001. There are over 400 British needle tins shown, with a whole month each of HMV, Songster and Embassy, showing the wide range available.
