[78-L] 78s in China

[Glenn Amer]

Greetings from a new subscriber to this list from Australia.

The post about the Taiwanese 78s reminded me of an experience I had recently in China.

I work as an entertainer on cruise ships and therefore do lots and lots of travelling around the world. One of my hobbies is collecting 78s from wherever I go (in addition to the regular collection I have at home).

Last year in Peking (Beijing) I found some scratchy, average 1950s vintage Chinese 78s in an 'antique' shop. When the shopkeeper noticed that I was interested and not a local the price became $100 per disk! I just put them down and started laughing as I walked away. She almost chased me down the street offering them at a lower price.

About two days later I was in Xian (where the entombed warriors are located) and found another stack of 78s in a real antique shop. The price quoted was 5 cents a disk, obviously I bought them all!

Incidentally regarding the post about the Taiwanese 78s, my wife is from Taiwan and she says that they had a flourishing recording industry (in her father's era), but she's not sure if the records were pressed locally.

I'm off to England soon to make my first acoustic cylinders for the Vulcan Record Company. Is there any company out there still pressing 78s? If there is, then I could die happily as I'll have done everything I have wanted to do (make pianola rolls, cylinders, CDs, AM and FM radio and TV!)

Regards, Glenn. 
http://www.glennamer.com