[78-L] Your 78's--WAS: Talking Machine World and / or Review

[Matthew Duncan]

Hi Steven and all,

I am 24 and have been collecting 78s for almost 15 years...I genuinely worry about what will happen to my records after I am gone...I would love to think that in around 50 years time or whenever it is that 'the time comes', somebody who will really appreciate the records will get them...but....in all those years time, will anyone want 78s??  I imagine there will be little to no interest in my rare rockabilly/blues/cajun 45s and jazz/blues/country LPs of the 50s/60s let alone my ragtime, early jazz, dance band, blues, novelty and classical 78s of approx 1900 to 1940!!???!!!!!!

I also think that these days there are still libraries and other institutions who would accept records and books into their archives such as discussed by Mr Barr, but in decades to come when music downloads will have been the norm for a long time and electronic books been on the market for ages, will any such place take my records either??!!

Something to ponder...

I would like to think that my research and preservation activities to date and future projects (I am planning a website at present) are not in vain but can't imagine who I would pass all these things onto...

Regards
Matthew Duncan
UK.




________________________________
From: Steven C. Barr <stevenc at interlinks.net>
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Mon, 1 March, 2010 2:01:31
Subject: [78-L] Your 78's--WAS: Talking Machine World and / or Review

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Ramm" <steveramm78l at hotmail.com>
> Did someone answer the Talking Machine REVIEW question? I didn't see it. 
> TMR was a more modern publication published in the 1970s and 80 by Ernie 
> Baly in the UK. He was former editor of Hillandale News. Ernie gave it up 
> and a guy named John Booth continued it periodically.
> Speaking of similar sounding names. There's an article by Bob Baumback in 
> the new issue of the Calif APS mag on early talking machine periodicals. 
> He mentions and shows the monthly called Talking Machine and Radio Monthly 
> but at same time there was Talking Machine and Radio Weekly (which i have 
> some copies of). It eventually evolved into Radio and Television Weekly!
> But TMR - to answer the question came at least 50 years after TMW - and 
> was a collectors' pub.
>
So...do "digital archives" of this more recent publication exist 
anywhere...?!

What is seriously needed is someone(s) to data-enter the relevant contents
of all of these record-related publications!

I just spent over Cdn$4,000.00 to purchase a lot of Arthur Badrock's
archives...given that I'm now 67+, it remains to be seen how much use
(in terms of time) I shall get out of this acquisition...?! If all goes as 
hoped,
UCSB will inherit my half-vast shellac archive (they have already asked
for this bequest!) as well as my similarly half-vast discographic library!

We "78-ophiles" should be giving serious thought to the eventual
destinations of our record and book holdings...?! The bitter reality
is that (my guess) a majority of us are either "official senior citizens"
(i.e. 65+) or beyond that age...and we will be seeing more "death
notices" on 78-L and its counterparts in coming years!

As I have often said/posted, it looks like there may be ONE final
"78 collector" who is able to acquire all of the collections of his/her/its
predecessors...probably at major discounts from their original costs!
There will certainly be surviving "collectors" ready and willing to
purchase "rarities" (i.e. "Zulus' Ball" on Gennett)...but the average
78 is neither rare nor particularly valuable...?!

Finally...how many of you 78-L listeners have left instuctions for
your children (or other desendants) as far as what should be done
with "all those old records"...?!

Chances are that after your funeral, your descendants will be
carrying out all of your 78's to the curb on the next "garbage day"...
to be unceremonially thrown into the maw of the next garbage
truck?!

Don't your 78's deserve a better fate...?!

Steven C. Barr 

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