It was in the late Autumn of 1962. The Beatles had just released 'Love Me Do' and as a teenager on Merseyside I was well and truly hooked onto the 'Mersey Sound' and the whole image that surrounded those wonderful years. Little did I know that soon I would be introduced to a very different sound that would emanate from something far more interesting than my little 'Dansette' record player.

Whilst visiting a friend, we ended up on a rainy Saturday afternoon generally annoying his parents and getting in the way around the house. In an attempt to keep us occupied and 'out of the way' his mother produced a box full of old 78rpm records and a portable wind-up gramophone. This was completely new to me and instantly caught my absolute attention. Within minutes we had everything from George Formby to Richard Tauber blasting out at an uncontrollable volume. That was it, from then on the Beatles would have to go hand-in-hand Reginald Dixon and all!

When the time came to leave, my friends mother soon realised that I had taken a real liking to the gramophone and records. After being told to wait a while her husband raided the attic and produced another black portable gramophone. After presenting me with the machine and a bunch of records, I scurried home as fast as I could to enjoy my own personal session. This machine and the addition of more records and needles was to serve me well for many years.

It was much later in life that I was presented with a cardboard box of junk by my brother. Having just purchased the box at a local village auction, he was assured that it contained a complete gramophone. So, I took the challenge on to re-build it. A few months later the fragments and bits had turned into a fine Oak Table Gramophone. In the years to come more gramophones appeared and the search for spares and yet more machines continued until it was clear that I now had a new and most interesting restoration hobby.

Over the years I have repaired and lovingly restored many hundreds of machines. Throughout this time I have attempted to record the work with photographs and illustrations. What I did find is that little information exists on the actual machines themselves other than a few books from the CLPGS. In 1992 I began to write a book 'The Gramophone an Introduction" ISBN 0-9521837-0-6. Writing a technical book is hard enough, however, what does take the time is the illustrations and photographs. I hope to publish the book soon. This Web site is intended as an adjunct to my book and also as a vehicle to share the enjoyment I have found with gramophones and 78rpm music. I hope you find the site of interest and would welcome feedback.

Raymond J Costello