Edison Phonograph Museum

This interesting museum is located in the town of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre just a 20 minute drive from Québec City.

The collection of more than 200 different cylinder phonographs can be divided into two large sections: the American machines and the non-American ones plus the accessories. The American machines can be themselves divided into three sections: the Edison phonographs, the Columbia Graphophones and the other American machines (Busy Bee, etc.). As to the non-American machines, they can be divided into two sections: the French machines (Pathe phonographs and the other – Lioret, Bettini, Ullman, etc.) and the other European artefacts (English, German, Swiss). You can find in the collection the Lys-O-Phone made in Quebec.

The museum offers bilingual guided visits, but it’s open only on rendez-vous.

The owner and the founder of the museum M. Jean-Paul Agnard bought his first cylinder phonograph in 1970 at an antique dealer in Quebec City, for $135.00, two years after his arrival in North America. It was an Edison Standard Model D, with an H reproducer and no horn, but with 17 Edison 4 Minute Blue Amberol celluloid cylinders. The next cylinders Jean-Paul Agnard was put forward were 2 minute wax ones with, above all, a Colombia Graphophone Type BK. His next acquisition was Tinfoil Phonograph which would have belonged to Emile Berliner, the co-inventor, with Charles Cros, of the lateral reproduction of sounds.

Back to France for summer holidays, he stopped at antique dealers, hoping to find some French cylinders. He found a Pathe phonograph and he made a few new discoveries. His interest in cylinder machines grew to the point that he has now one of the most important collection of these artefacts in America with more than 200 different machines.

Address of the Edison Phonograph Museum:

9812, rue Royale, Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré
Quebec
GOA 3CO
Canada

Phone: 418 827-5957 and 418 656-2131 ext. 6954

Web site of the museum: www.phono.org/beaupre.html