[78-L] 78rpm record collecting - a new Guide for Beginners - why not?

[David Lennick]

This looks less like a "how to" than a "why they do it" but it's from last year:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=0KOR8shcjVUC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=%22record+collecting%22+%2278s%22&source=bl&ots=b3iqEH7NDh&sig=7fNZKBSFsWS4qjT8GsJaB0ht1Pg&hl=en&ei=bEyjTs0Rpd7RAeq2hIQF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22record%20collecting%22%20%2278s%22&f=false

If the link is too long, look for "Wax Trash and Vinyl Treasures" by Roy Shuker.

dl

On 10/22/2011 7:03 PM, Mike Daley wrote:
> I would love to see such a book - I, for one, could really use a
> definitive, reliable, encyclopedic guide to the hobby. I'm not sure
> what the demand would be like, though. I don't see a lot of new people
> getting into 78 collecting. Maybe a guide like this would encourage
> more people to take it up. I'm a new collector myself, and though
> there are a lot of (often very expensive) reference books available as
> well as fragmentary, sometimes contradictory information on the net
> and on this list, it's hard to find concise explanations with examples
> of some of the aspects that you detail in the proposed table of
> contents.
> I'm sure that it would be possible to enlist different experts to
> write each chapter, with some sort of editorial overview to keep the
> different offerings somewhat compatible. And if not a book, why not a
> website?
>
> Mike
>
> On Sat, Oct 22, 2011 at 6:35 PM, Adam Miller<adam78 at clear.net.nz>  wrote:
>>
>> I was wondering....
>>
>> Why isn't there a new one of these?  It can't be that hard
>> to put together - can it?
>>
>> Think for a moment.  A quick search on Amazon for
>> "Introduction Stamp Collecting" finds a long list of titles
>> - even a "Stamp Collecting for Dummies".  Now I admit there
>> are a lot more philatelists than 78rpm collectors (myself
>> included in both groups), but there are many similarities,
>> especially in the amount of published research representing
>> the scope for specialist study.
>>
>> I re-read Semeonoff's Record Collecting - A Guide for
>> Beginners (1951) last night, which gave rise to the question
>> above.  I felt it struck the right level for the intended
>> reader, but was now terribly dated, especially in its
>> listing of artists and genres to collect.
>>
>> I've a couple of other recent books on Record Collecting,
>> including one that noted '78s' on the cover, but they tend
>> to cover them in a page or two and then focus on 45s and
>> LPs.
>>
>> What I think is needed is a volume just on 78s that would be
>> useful for answering all those questions that beginners have
>> (many of which end up on this forum, often repeatedly).
>> Care of 78s, stylii, recording to CD, packing and shipping,
>> buying&  selling online, rough value guide, collecting areas
>> or themes, dating records, useful books&  societies etc etc.
>>   The book would need to be cheap enough to encourage local
>> libraries to hold, or beginners to buy online.
>>
>> [You have to imagine a 20 minutes pause here while I thought
>> up the following contents list]
>>
>> 1. The pleasures of collecting 78rpm records
>> 2. A brief history of the 78rpm record
>> 3. The range of record types
>>   'Standard'
>>   Speeds
>>   Laminated etc
>>   Oversize Holes
>>   Early items
>>   Super-size
>>   Miniatures
>>   Postcards, cigarette cards, other gimmickry
>>   Flexible, both card and transparent
>>   Vertical cut
>>   Acetates
>>   etc
>> 4. Common collecting themes
>>   The Music style
>>   Jazz/Swing
>>   Classical Vocal
>>   Blues
>>   Country&  Western
>>   Orchestral
>>   Rock&  Roll
>>   Music-hall
>>   etc
>>   The Artist
>>   Caruso
>>   Vernon Dalhart
>>   Billy Williams
>>   etc
>>   The issuing Company
>>   Victor
>>   Berliner
>>   Vogue
>>   Fonotipia
>>   etc
>>   The record itself
>>   Picture Discs
>>   Unusual labels
>>   Kiddie Records
>>   6" and below
>>   etc
>>   Record sleeves
>> 5. Obtaining records
>>   Dealers
>>   Garage sales
>>   The Sallies
>>   Second-hand shops
>>   Local household lot auctions
>>   Ebay&c
>> 6. Handling&  Cleaning
>> 7. Packaging&  Storage
>>   Mailing safely
>>   Storage Conditions
>>   Sleeves
>>   Cabinetry
>> 8. Cataloguing
>>   Spreadsheet vs database
>> 9. Equipment for playing your records
>>   Gramophones
>>   Steel, trailer&  fibre needles
>>   Earlier 3-speeds
>>   Modern turntables
>>   Cartridges&  stylii
>>   Recording your shellac
>> 10. Disposal
>> 11. Some famous collectors
>> 12. Clubs&  Societies
>> 13. A valuation 'ready reckoner'
>> 14. A basic bibliography
>> 15. Glossary
>> Index
>>
>> What does the list think - both about why there isn't an up
>> to date version of Semeonoff, and about what could be in
>> such a book?
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Adam Miller
>> Wellington
>> New Zealand
>> www.78rpm.net.nz