[78-L] Early discography (was: Larry Adler rarity?)

[Michael Biel]

From: dialjazz at verizon.net
>> Don’t know about the Larry Adler recording but you are quite lucky to 
>> have a copy of Schleman’s 1936 “Rhythm on Record,” especially if it is 
>> an intact, clean copy! This is the daddy of discographies.

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> It's a beautiful copy, and don't mention the asking price on this list..
> I don't want to give these people any ideas, not that I'm trying to
> diddle them (moi?).  dl


Is this copy the original or is it the Greenwood Press reprint?    They
did a wonderful set of historic discography reprints in 1978 that I
reviewed in ARSC Journal Vol. 13 No. 3 that is on-line at 
http://www.arsc-audio.org/journals/v13/v13n3p145-169.pdf
I called the Schleman reprint of "Rhythm on Record" the hit of the
series" on page 158.  I'm glad you reminded me of it because I need to
refer to it for my presentation along with Blackstone "Index To Jazz"
which was also in the reprint series.  (  

Looking at my review of the reprint series now seems so funny about how
I talked and complained about the prices.  But so many of the books in
the series were so easily found in used book stores then at very low
prices, and some of those were the highest priced reprints.  But the
Schleman and Blackstone reprints at $19.75 each seems cheap NOW knowing
the prices that discographies NOW are published at.  These two were hard
to find even then.  I don't think I've seen an original Schleman. 
(There are at least three more copies of the reprint on the web right
now although I just ordered the least expensive copy. There was an
original set of Blackstone for sale at Jazz Record Center when I was
last there in Jan. You can also put together a set of Blackstone
originals on the web, but there is a reasonable priced reprint also
available.  I just ordered another of the reprint.  Cost is more
important to me than having an original of things like this.)

But my complaints about bibliographic data of these reprints still
stand.  A 1978 reprint of a 1936 book MUST be considered a 1936 book
because a facsimile reprint is not an update.  The reprint info must be
secondary in listing the book.  That being said, if you are interested
in these books for their info and the historic value of seeing how
discography began before Rust, these Greenwood reprints will serve the
purpose, were very well done, and are MUCH sturdier than the originals.
I have originals of the American printings of Delaunay Hot and New Hot
Discograpy and don't seem to have had modern facsimile reprints.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com