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

[Malcolm Rockwell]

I have 4 of them: AeVo 12018, 12056, 12147, 12170. All Hawaiian.
Malcolm

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On 6/23/2014 9:12 AM, Doug Caldwell wrote:
> 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
>