[78-L] Auction Sticker Shock

[Geoffrey Wheeler]

It seems to me that high-priced 78s and high-priced jazz LPs are two 
different worlds. LP buyers have become so obsessed with a small number 
of labels they think Blue Note 12-inch 78s command high prices, when, 
of course, they don’t. What continues to amaze me about the LP auction 
market is that, for the most part, I wouldn’t have bought these LPs 
when they were new and selling for $5.98. The Jutta Hipp-Zoot Sims LP 
will probably go for between $2000 and $4000. What does the winning 
bidder do with a $2000 plus record: Display it, play it, put it in a 
safe deposit box? Even “Zulus Ball” was played, not framed on a wall. 
The most recent owner handed it to me. I looked closely at the label 
but refused to touch the record. In my presence, he played it two times 
on an average portable.