[78-L] Ephemera as context

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Davies" <SDavies at mtroyal.ca>
> Steven B writes:
> Once was a time I could have provided the data using my half-vast archive
> of catalogs; however, that was before my ...
>>>>
>        Steven, I feel your pain.  But I notice that you're not writing in
> ALL CAPS, so you must be simmering down a bit.
>        Thank you for the pointer to the catalogues as the solution to my
> puzzle ("Whence came this composite Tony Martin disc?").  Obviously, there
> is valuable information in the record company catalogues to which we
> non-owners do not have access, and which the usual discographical
> compendiums do not include.
>        Here is a copyright question, then.  Are these catalogues
> protected as "databases", or can we start copying them to a publicly
> accessible forum?
>
Here I'm NOT sure...however, record-company catalogs  virtually ALWAYS
carry copyright notices...!
>        Is the release date of a new catalogue considered to be the first
> release of a new disc?
>
In fact, records were generally "announced" in the monthly supplements of
record companies; record companies scheduled two or three releases
per month...announced these in monthly supplements...and then in annual
catalogs! So, in spite of my DG, records had (and thus have) specific
release dates, which are shown in company ledgers...!

>        Does anyone track which paper sleeve would have been used for a
> first release?  or how to date a paper sleeve?
>
Not, AFAIK (I'd welcome correction on this!). There were specific
"editions" of paper sleeves...whose dates COULD be estimated by
using the "new issues" shown thereon...!
>
>        Does anyone track which label appears on the first release, as
> opposed to subsequent pressings where another label may be used?  (We saw
> this with the Six Brown Brothers on Emerson where a variety of labels were
> used for the same disc within a short timeframe.)
>
Here I don't know, though that sort of detailed research DOES seem possible
for 78 collectors...! I once tried to list different varieties of GG-related
sleeves (and record colours) along with approximate date ranges for the
varieties...this was published in NAG, but I have long forgotten the
issue number...?!

>        Now, I know that for most of you, your collecting is all about
> gathering the captured sound, but for a few it might also be about
> recreating the original item in it's natural environment.  I'm a big fan
> of context, which comes from studying/assuming/fantasizing about the
> factors in making a disc, not just the outcome, and about the contemporary
> "colour" from that time.
>
>        Years ago, I created a web project based on Dickens' unfinished
> novel, "The mystery of Edwin Drood" (1870).  It's a tantalizing mystery,
> in that Dickens left some clues as to where the novel was heading, and you
> the reader may be able to figure out the ending.  Some of the clues are in
> the recurring illustration which he commissioned for the front cover of
> the serialization.
>        If you were given the opporunity to read the novel online, or in a
> paperback issue, or in the original serialization of six installments,
> which would you prefer?  If you wanted to read the serialization, would
> you like a library copy which has been bound, with the covers removed, or
> would you prefer to handle (and this does exist) the separate issues
> complete with the original advertising flyers and gewgaws for local
> companies?
>        Doesn't this last option sound much more exciting?  That's the
> sort of option I would like future generations to have when they turn to
> the 78's, of which we are the current custodians.  If they can't touch the
> real thing, at least we can leave them a record of what a disc's original
> features were.
>
>        Comments?
>
Long ago (around 1997) I lost custody of several hundred Saturday
Evening Posts I had earlier acquired quite cheaply...as well as other
"paper stuff" such as fifty or more old mail-order catalogs (and
Volume VI of the "Rider manuals" which was by mistake in my
bedroom bookshelves?!?!)!!

Then I went through equivalent "bullroar" back in late February
of this year...!! I am a DEDICATED pack-rat...but the "real
world" HATES us pack-rats (note that they gladly look up
stuff in print archives, but seem totally UNable to realize that
archives exist because SOMEBODY had to save the dommed
stuff to begin with...?!)!!

In each case, the results were severe cases of "Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder!!"

I cannot imagine a more boring way of life than trying to exist
in a (usually) suburban abode where "cleanliness" is more to be
valued than accumulated archival documents...?!

There ARE things more important...MUCH more important,
in fact...than MONEY! All one can do with money is exchange
it for ACTUALLY worth-something artifacts (if you doubt
this...just imagine being stuck in mid-desert with a canteen
full of cash, and no water dealers to be found...?!)

FEH!!

...stevenc