[78-L] Bob Altshuler was "Zulu's Ball" was Gennett labels

[zimrec at juno.com]

Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:28:48 -0400
From: "Steven C. Barr" <stevenc at interlinks.net>
Subject: Re: [78-L] "Zulu's Ball" was Gennett labels
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: <zimrec at juno.com>
>The article by Russ Shor pertaining to the history of "Zulu's Ball" on the VJM 
> site is a bit inaccurate.  Here are the details as I know them, first 
> hand:
> Bob Altshuler, a former record company executive -- he worked for Candid 
> and subsequently became a VP at Columbia -- had became involved in dealing 
> in collector records, primarily 78 rpm.  How that came about is another 
> story which I won't go into here.

<snip>
>
Altschuer is/was NOTED for his "Altschuler pressings"...10" vinyl 
pressings taken from original ARC/CBS stampers! Sadly, there exists NO practical method
of tracking the ownership of records SO rare that that is useful data!!

Note that my Okie 78 is also probably an "only existing copy!" However,
it is of CONSIDERABLY less jazz-oriented interest...?!

...stevenc

=======================

The vinyl pressings to which you Steven refers are among the other items I saw on some of my numerous visits to Bob Altshuler's house in Huntington, NY.  I really can't recall how many I had seen or how many copies of any particular item there were, but probably not more than a handful of multiples of the same item.  Some of the discs were purchased by Carl Hallstrom of Sweden who eventually used some of them in producing his Tax label reissue series.  I think Altshuler had them priced at $25 each.  His position at Columbia enabled him to order such items, probably at no cost to him, so his profit margin was rather comfortable.  It is from that venture that, I believe, Bob expanded into buying notable jazz collections and selling the records to collectors.

I should remark here that Bob was a very friendly person on a social level.  However, regardless of how well he knew you, when it came to buying of any of the records he had available, it was strictly business.  It was as though he had just met you for the first time.  I don't recall if I ever bought anything from him, but I had been at his house when Jerry VAlburn and John R. T. Davies had made purchases.  I recall one of my visits with John while he was staying at Jerry's house.  The two had, earlier in the day, returned from a visit to Altshuler.  John mentioned having seen a record at Bob's house that he wanted but that the latter wanted something in the range of $15.  John figured the value of the record at more like $5 to $7, but surmised that Altshuler came up with the dollar amount because he [John] wanted the record.

For those list subscribers unfamiliar with John -- who friends referred as John R.T.: He was a musician, sound restoration engineer, all-around creative genius, discographer and had amassed a collection of mainly jazz recordings from the pre-WWII era that in quantity and quality had to be one of the best in the world.  He had a wonderful sense of humor and, most importantly, he was anxious to share his knowledge and creativity with just about anyone.  I learned some of his techniques of stabilizing and repairing shellac records and just wish I had some additional tools so I could do more things.  I'd be willing to share what I know with others because, as John believed, I don't want to see such knowledge disappear with me or my generation.

Art 

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