A salesman sample’s value depends on what it represents, who made it, its condition and completeness, and what comparable examples have actually sold for. Before settling on a price, establish whether you have a sales demonstrator, a toy, a display model, or a patent model. Our miniature Edison Ediphone cylinder shaver illustrates why those distinctions and a few easily overlooked parts matter.
An Edison Ediphone cylinder shaver removed the recorded surface from a wax dictation cylinder so it could be used again. After someone recorded a message and a typist transcribed it, the shaver prepared the cylinder for its next assignment. The old recording came off with the wax. Office correspondence had a surprisingly physical delete button. The Henry Ford
That brings us to a small example from our salesman sample collection: an Edison “Pro-Technic Ediphone” cylinder shaver miniature. Cataloged to the 1930s, it stands just 6.5 inches tall. Its subject belongs to the less glamorous side of recorded sound, where the goal was getting a letter typed and ready for the mail.
Before we had a billion podcasts, the voices of yesteryear were recorded a little differently...
WHAT IS A SALESMAN SAMPLE?
A salesman sample is an example of a product used to show prospective customers what they could buy. For large equipment, that could mean a portable miniature demonstrating its construction or moving parts. Carrying a model shaver into a meeting was considerably easier than rolling the real thing from door to door.
Small size alone, however, doesn’t establish that purpose. Toys, display models, and models made to explain inventions can resemble salesman samples. Markings, period literature, and a documented history help establish what a particular piece was made to do.
If you’re wondering what your salesman sample is worth, identification is the starting point. Its maker, condition, completeness, documented history, and comparable sales help determine a realistic price. This little Ediphone gives us a useful place to start looking.
Thinking of selling? Send us photographs, dimensions, and any markings so we can discuss your piece! Email info@industrialartifacts.net for inquiries.
EDISON HAD LETTERS TO WRITE
The connection between Edison and office dictation goes back much further than the Pro-Technic name. In June 1878, Edison included letter writing and dictation among the possible uses of his phonograph. The Library of Congress records that proposal in its history of the cylinder phonograph, alongside ideas for recorded books, music, and preserving voices.
His early phonograph used tinfoil wrapped around a cylinder. Later developments brought wax recording surfaces into the story, but the underlying ambition was already there: capture a voice and reproduce it when someone needed to hear it. Library of Congress
For an office, that offered an appealing possibility. A spoken message could wait for the person who would turn it into a typed document.
HOW DID AN EDIPHONE CYLINDER SHAVER WORK?
The shaver handled the cleanup.
In the office workflow described by The Henry Ford, a recorded wax cylinder went to a typist, who listened using a transcribing machine. Once the recording was no longer needed, a shaving machine scraped away the inscribed layer. The museum notes that wax cylinders could be reused more than 100 times through this process. The Henry Ford
PRO-TECHNIC, WITH A SALES PITCH TO MATCH
By October 1934, Edison was advertising the Pro-Technic Ediphone to readers of Banking magazine. The advertisement promoted a fully enclosed dictating instrument, offered a demonstration at the customer’s desk, and promised help training the office.
It also claimed a 20% to 50% increase in business capacity. That was the manufacturer’s sales pitch, rather than an independently verified result, but it tells us what Edison’s representatives were selling: a more productive working day. October 1934 advertisement
Apparently, the promise of getting through more work has never needed much updating.
The advertisement establishes the Pro-Technic name in that period. It doesn’t document the manufacture or travels of our particular miniature, but it provides a contemporary setting for the equipment it represents.
A SMALL CABINET WITH PLENTY TO EXPLAIN
Our Edison Ediphone salesman sample measures just 3.25 inches long by 3 inches wide. Its cast-metal cabinet opens at the top to reveal a miniature roller, guide rod, and sliding cutting carriage. A lower door reveals a removable rack holding four hollow cylindrical components.
HOW DO I PRICE A SALESMAN SAMPLE?
Start with completed sales of comparable pieces, then examine the differences. Look for the same maker and model where possible. If an exact match isn’t available, compare examples with a similar purpose, period, construction, and level of detail. Another miniature being roughly the same size doesn’t make it a useful price comparison.
You have questions. Industrial Artifacts has answers. Email us with your salesman sample today! Contact us at info@industrialartifacts.net.
WHAT A SMALL MECHANISM CAN TELL YOU ABOUT VALUE
With an Ediphone miniature, the interesting questions start when the lid opens. Is the cutting carriage present? Does it move? Are the fittings original? What belongs in the lower compartment?
Completeness and condition are separate questions. A model can retain its parts while showing considerable wear, or look freshly finished while lacking the component that explained its purpose. A useful comparison accounts for both.
Documentation deserves the same attention. A period advertisement like the one in this article can help identify the equipment represented. A photograph, catalog entry, or company record showing the miniature itself may help establish its original role.
WHAT IF I HAVE A PATENT MODEL?
A patent model was made to demonstrate an invention as part of the patent application process. A salesman sample served a sales purpose. Both might explain a mechanism in miniature, but their original jobs were different.
Before asking what your patent model is worth, look for evidence connecting that specific object to an inventor and patent application. An original Patent Office tag, matching records, and documented ownership history can be important.
A patent number on a manufactured item is a research lead; it doesn’t by itself establish that the object was submitted to the Patent Office.
Once identification is supported, compare sales of documented patent models with similar subject matter, craftsmanship, condition, and historical interest. Account for surviving labels and paperwork, and whether collectors are actively seeking that type of invention. There is no single price that applies to everything described as a patent model.
We’re discussing the Ediphone here as a salesman sample. Its connection to an inventive company doesn’t establish it as Edison’s patent model.
WHAT THE LITTLE MACHINE LEAVES BEHIND
The appeal of this piece is how much of an unfamiliar office routine it makes visible. A cylinder needed somewhere to be recorded, somewhere to be heard, and eventually a fresh surface for another message. The shaver completed that cycle.
HAVE A SALESMAN SAMPLE OR MODEL YOU’RE THINKING OF SELLING?
Industrial Artifacts will buy your salesman samples, patent models, and demonstrators!
Email info@industrialartifacts.net or text 815-299-7625 with clear photographs, dimensions, close-ups of markings, and any history or paperwork that came with your piece. Include photographs of loose parts, damage, and repairs, too.
If you’re unsure whether it’s a salesman sample, patent model, or another kind of miniature, tell us what you know. You don’t need to settle its identity before getting in touch about a possible sale.
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