[78-L] If you've ever wanted a Black Patti...

[Steve Shapiro]

The bidding suggests that had there been a stronger competing bidder, this might have gone for much higher.   This is always the case, but in each of the last three days, it looks like the winner topped his own high bids "just to make sure".

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&item=130523488562

The terrible condition notwithstanding, this sounds like a great record.  You can here it and even get mp3s of this record (for now) at:  http://www.blackpatti.com

The allure of this label is striking.  It issued some great music, even though what I have is a Ralph Waldo Emerson organ record which I never play.  Would these records bring such high prices if it weren't for the elaborate peacock illustration, say if it featured instead a cameo picture of Sissieretta Jones or George Washington?

If we were a betting site, we could have a pool where the pool winner guesses the number of times the winner of the Black Patti will actually play this record.  I have a friend who likes to say that most record collectors don't actually need their records to be happy, they just need to _think_ that they have their records, since these record collectors don't actually _play_ their records.  Would our legendary Canadian 78-l friend be equally happy if he were deluded into _thinking_ he possessed 300,000 to 3,000,000 78s without having to endure the burden of actually keeping this quantity of records?  He could also imagine that he is enduring this burden and bringing in 1,000 more 78s each week, and then perhaps he might also reap the same joy or woe of navigating 4,000 crates of records.

This reminds me . . . the late Gus Kuhlman was a very deliberate jazz record collector.  He once told me that he limited his collection to 700 records.  Inspiring approach.

steve
____________________________________________________________
Groupon&#8482 Official Site
1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best!
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4de2645d617a812dec7st04duc