[78-L] Collecting hobbies and their prices...

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> From: Cary Ginell <soundthink at live.com>
>> The first issue of Record Changer was July 15, 1942. It was preceded
>> by Jazz Information, the first U.S. jazz collectors' magazine,
>> published by Gene Williams, which ran sporadically from 1939
>> through November 1941. And contrary to your statement that
>> Record Changer was aimed at "Pop 78 Collectors," the magazine
>> was aimed specifically at - at least while Gordon Gullickson
>> was running it - Mouldy Figge jazz fans (i.e. traditional New Orleans 
>> jazz).
>>
Here I have to explain myself! When I spoke of "Pop 78 Collectors,"
I meant to specifically include the already-extant and active collectors
of classical vocal 78's. "Record Changer" was indeed aimed at "jazz
collectors"...I failed to notice the common (in that era) slant toward
"New Orleans Jazz"...?!

> And don't forget that there were several jazz discographies that had
> already been published in the 30s, including Delauney's Hot Discography
> which was reprinted in the U.S. in 1938 by Commodore Record Shop, Milt
> Gabler's thriving jazz collector shop. And around 1940 there was
> published a jazz record price guide and a jazz record collector's
> directory, both of I recently acquired.  The jazz collectors had already
> noted what were the rare records before the WW II shellac drives--a very
> significant fact.  And remember, many of the records in that guide had
> been new in the stores no more than 20 years earlier and in order to
> satisfy the market were already being reissued by pirates, clubs, and
> stores like Commodore, and then by the companies themselves.  My copy of
> Hot Discography was from a jazz club in a Yale or Harvard dorm and has
> some fascinating underlinings showing their interests, and has some
> penciled-in additions, such as Zulu's Ball!
>
>> Speaking of specialized collections, I have an almost complete
>> run of Record Changers, which ran from 1942 to 1957.  Cary Ginell
>
In fact, I own (more accurately, I HOPE I still own?!) a complete set
of Record Changer! I also have (had?!) most Record Research issues;
I am (was?) missing only the first twenty-five or so...and the last few
(Len  K.up and died just as I was going to mail off my subscription
renewal and an order for the copies I had missed?!).

Next thing I have to do is to order the handful of New Amberola
Graphics I missed after my subscription ran out and I was too poor
to renew it...?!

IMPORTANT QUESTION...!!

WHO owns the copyright to RR issues?! Someone (Malcolm?!)
should scan the pages of a complete set...and then post same to
the Internet...?!

> So Record Research began before the demise of Record Changer??
>
Do we KNOW this? I based my guess on the fact that Record
Research included a few continuing columns which had started
in Record Changer...?!

Keep in mind that (as I noticed at the most recent CCC?!) we
78-ophiles are almost all "senior citizens" or close thereunto...and
thus approaching the end of our life-spans! The few of us who
are (1) old enough to be interested in 78rpm phonorecords...
and...(2) young enough to be interested in "the Net" and other
digital phenomenae...NEED to put as much 78-related stuff
(including 78-related periodicals?!) onto the Internet as we
possibly can...?!

I have to wonder whether...given a decade or two...78
collecting will have faded out, with a small handful of
remaining 78 lovers suddenly inheriting (through purchase?!)
ALL the several million surviving 78rpm phonorecords...?!

...stevenc