Edison LU-37 London Upright

Edison LU-37, “London Upright,” c. 1922. Missing turntable, broken spring, missing governor, missing grille, poor cosmetic condition.

I purchased this machine for a few reasons: firstly, it was very cheap. Secondly, it was equipped with an Edison “Dance” reproducer, which is an accessory made by Edison in the 1920s to increase volume output for dancing. It is a somewhat rare and collectable part today and it more than justified the price of the whole machine. I could easily have just kept the reproducer and trashed/parted out the rest of the machine.

But I’m a sucker for the sad and neglected machines. After it sat around in my shop looking terrible for a while, I decided to give it a chance. I luckily have quite a few Edison parts on hand and was able to get it running within a week. After removing the paint spots and getting the cabinet structurally sound, the finish didn’t really look that bad. I like to preserve the original finish whenever possible, so this machine just got a touch-up and wax coat.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Once it became clear that the machine was going to stay intact, I decided to make a replica of the missing grille. Using photos of other LU-37s I found, I made a basic template on the computer and stenciled it onto some mahogany plywood. After much effort, I ended up with a reasonably good copy.

Hear it play a hot jazz disc released about the same time this machine was made below.

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