[78-L] 78 collectors

[Sammy Jones]

I've been thinking about this recently: how many 78 rpm record collectors
are there in the U.S., North America, the rest of the world?  Maybe I'm a
rare case, but I've only ever met one other 78 collector in my life (granted
my age is probably a little under the average)!

There was a time (before I discovered 78-L) that I thought I pretty much
must be the only one in the world, but then there are lots of people making
a living on 78 record auctions and restorations, and eBay does a swift
business.  There must be enough people to support all this.

Has anyone ever done an estimate?  Are there merely hundreds of us, or is it
conceivable that our numbers could reach past a few thousand?

Sammy Jones (who's been collecting since about 1996, and whose first 78s
were Frank Crumit singing "Margie" on Columbia and somebody singing "I'm
Just a Vagabond Lover" on Velvet Tone)