Welcome to René Rondeau's
Antique Phonograph and Photography Site

Updated 4/24/24. (See what's new.)


This site is devoted to some of my primary interests. I hope you will share my fascination with arcane 19th century technology!


ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPHS

Antique Phonographs have been an all-consuming passion of mine since I bought my first one as a 12 year-old child in 1961. Even after 60 years (!) I still find these amazing pieces of early technology to be endlessly fascinating. The picture above, taken in 1962, shows my dog 'Stubby' standing in for Nipper (with a Columbia BQ instead of a Berliner).

One great truism about collecting is that we never really own these treasures, we are just temporary caretakers. Like many of my friends, I have decided it's time to downsize my collections a bit and let other collectors have the pleasure of enjoying some of these great machines. In the past few years I've sold over a third of my collection. These pages represent what I have currently.

Please Click Here to Go to My Antique Phonograph Museum.


WET PLATE COLLODION PHOTOGRAPHY

I am an avid practitioner of wet plate collodion photography as practiced from the 1850s to about 1880.

How Wet-Plate Collodion Images are Made

My Ambrotype and Tintype Gallery


KODAK CAMERA COLLECTION

I have a modest collection of (mostly) Kodak cameras dating back to the very first Kodak made in 1888. Please visit my museum HERE.


Other topics of interest:

Edison at the Eiffel Tower (1889)
Thomas A. Edison, Junior
Authentic Phonograph Tinfoil
Peter Bacigalupi - Phonograph Marketing Pioneer
Edison's Conquest of Mars
The Wizard of Oz and the Phonograph
Edison Autograph Forgeries
A Tribute to William C. Ptacek
A Tribute to Dave Heitz, "The Edison Connection"