[78-L] Are AV 12000s the rarest discs on the planet ? [exasperated rhetorical question]

[Doug Caldwell]

For the past 5 or 6 years I've been on what has proven to be an almost
futile search for AV 12000s. As part of a project on Rudy Wiedoeft I
compiled my own rough "discography" of the series (since I don't think there
is one? or wasn't, at the time)  and determined there were about 45 discs
(90 sides) I needed to hear, in a range between AV 12076 to AV 12239. But
it's been like looking for dodo birds. I am baffled at how non-existent they
are. And not just the sides I'm looking for. It is rare to see ANY 12000s up
for sale--though there were some 170 + discs in the series (not counting the
1200s.)

Over the years I have been able to locate and purchase only 19 of the discs
on my list. The Library of Congress has a measly 6 of them (some duplicates
of what I have) and I've been able to hear 3 other sides on web sites. In
all, therefore, I have heard 45 out of the 90 sides I'm looking for. 

I'm just wondering if anyone has ANY inkling of what the story is - WHY is
this series so impossible to find? (I've read that 12000s were mainly sent
out, as a package, with new Aeolian Vocalion phonographs. Then, of course ,
the series ended when the Lateral 14000 series began.) Were they sold more
in Canada than the US? And, WHERE might I search for better results? Does
anyone collect these? Should I post a "Want" list?

(sorry for the exaggerated 'subject' line -- thought it might garner some
attention.)

Doug Caldwell