How many 78s do you have? (w/ image gallery)

[John in Covina]

Not getting duped.

There's nothing better than getting a great deal, except when both parties are happy. Were there alot of duplicates?

 

[Earp]

Dupes?

Hardly any, John. It was a beautiful sunny day when I brought all of those home. After transferring my new aquisitions to shelves in the garage, I spent the rest of the weekend going through them, playing them on my old wind-up Brunswick console and picking out my favorites. I spent quite a few weeks going through them. I was about 17 years old and it was really neat because previous to that I would scour junk shops and flea markets looking for the older 78's and paying fifty cents to a dollar a piece for them. Now whenever I needed an old record fix I would just go out to my stash and bring a dozen or so in and see which ones I liked and wanted to keep. It was a very surreal experience to have that kind of instant gratification.

There were so many different labels and a bunch of them were thick single sided discs. All different colors of discs and various styles of music and comedy. Lots of recording, musical, and comedy history there. Like I said, I still have most of them. I hope to record them someday and get them in digital form. Good memories.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

...people who rescue old things - that they are mostly crazy packrats, grungy hippies, fruity artist-types, preservationist cranks, just generally not solid citizens. And he wanted to save you from that kind of life, and the social ostracism that would inevitably(?) result.

The small-town midwesterner in me still questions daily whether I might not, in fact, be becoming one of these social pariahs. ...
I did, however, slow down drastically in my 78 purchases about 10 years ago. Mostly because I had more of the things than I had the time or energy to listen to, but also because I felt there were a few too many folks connected with the hobby who were socially thwarted, bereft or desperate ...

Fletch, I can't describe how close to home that hits (except replace the "small town midwesterner" part with "low-income urban" upbringing). There definitely ARE normal collectors... but like you said, the big-time guys really do seem to be more into that than anything else.

Since I quit (a bit less than 10 years ago... when I graduated from school), I've gotten rid of lots of belongings in general, and often thought of getting rid of most the 78 collection, but decided, I'll let that be my one big "thing" that's really eclectic; those 78s really define "me" too much to ever get rid of.

- C H

 

[dundeedavie]

Can I ask a question ? When you are buying 78's do you buy any you come across or search for particular artists?


The reason I am asking is there is 3 78's i would love and am not having any joy this side of the pond and was wondering if with your obvious contacts you would have more luck ...now i wouldn't dream of asking for contact names all i ask is if you are looking for yourselves and you come across any of these to give me a shout

Joe Tex - Pneumonia - King (i have the 45 of this and the studio alt. take but would love it on 78)

Jo Ann Henderson - Baby Please Don't Go - Phonograph

Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don't Go - Imperial

 

[Rafter]

I have several 78 sets which date back to the late 40's and early 50's.
These were family owned and handed down to me.

One of these is a priceless Columbia Records Set of "Woody Herman & His Woodchoppers" (1948).

One of the prized family 78's was Eileen Barton's "If I Knew You Were Comin'..I Would Bake A Cake"/flipside "I'm Goin' Poco Loco In My Coco"(no kidding...a very funny song)) on National Records (1950).

I have several rare "Capital Record Reader Sets" from that era..my favorite, "Mickey and the Beanstalk". Told by Johnny Mercer to Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll. It has a 21 page color illustrated booklet with 3 78 rpm records (1947) ....I listened to these sets on the family Webcor Hi-Fi as a toddler in the late 70's. I wasn't allowed near the Fischer Stereo back then!!

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Rafter, that's cool that you still have records And the player from when you were a kid.

Can I ask a question ? When you are buying 78's do you buy any you come across or search for particular artists?


The reason I am asking is there is 3 78's i would love and am not having any joy this side of the pond and was wondering if with your obvious contacts you would have more luck ...now i wouldn't dream of asking for contact names all i ask is if you are looking for yourselves and you come across any of these to give me a shout

Joe Tex - Pneumonia - King (i have the 45 of this and the studio alt. take but would love it on 78)

Jo Ann Henderson - Baby Please Don't Go - Phonograph

Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don't Go - Imperial

DD, the only place I know of that wouldn't be a waste of time for rare r&b 78s is http://www.gemm.com/ , but maybe some other folks know other sources likely to have those.

I checked Gemm for your first one, and didnt' find it. Their site is nonstandard & annoying, but the first thing you should click is "Advanced Search" link near upper left, then go from there. Also know that sellers sometimes misspell anything but the artist's name. Good luck - (I didn't know Joe Tex went back to the 78 era, Cool; but then, didn't know James Brown was on Federal 78s till I got the one in my scans at the top of the thread)

I guess you've already tried various general google searches to see if you might locate one of the countless dealers that may have it posted on their website; that'd be my only next guess.

 

[Kimberly]

I got all of these at a yard sale today for $8.00. Now I need to fix my phonograph so I can play them. I promised myself I wouldn't buy and records until it was fixed but I couldn't pass up this deal!

All of the above come in a 1940's album case

 

[Kimberly]

Next set

The last one posted is a set of 78's with 4 in the case! :eusa_clap

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

I got all of these at a yard sale today for $8.00. Now I need to fix my phonograph so I can play them. I promised myself I wouldn't buy and records until it was fixed but I couldn't pass up this deal!

Nice work for $8! Don't think you can have a 78 collection representative of pop tastes in America in that era w/o Sentimental Journey & White Christmas. Frenesi is a fave, since it's one of the first I heard in elementary school when just discovering swing.

And Jo Stafford: As I said in the original labels post...

 

[Kimberly]

Nice work for $8! Don't think you can have a 78 collection representative of pop tastes in America in that era w/o Sentimental Journey & White Christmas.

And Jo Stafford: As I said in the original labels post...
http://www.eternalgoods.com/temp_78labels16.jpg

I dug hard for those 78's. I lucked out too because right after I paid for them a dealer came in and bought the rest of them in bulk. I would have done the same but my record player doesn't even work yet. lol

I don't know much about Jo Stafford but I figured I would buy them as it was a nice set and a good way to get introduced to some new music.

 

[drafe007]

alot of them, somewhere in the 50 range.

one of them is a moore sisters sonora 78 but on the b side of booigw woogie cowboy theres a sonora label moore sister nad everthing but no inof as to the title of the number? could somone solve this mystery of me? oh and i have a 7 inch 78 of sy oliver playing the dragnet theme! and its a hoot when i play it at 45!! ah

 

[Dismuke]

I have more than would be practical to count. Let's just say it is many thousands. I have been interested in 78s since I was about 10 years old or so. I collect pre-World War II records and have little interest in the post war stuff. My main interest is the hot dance bands of the late 1920s and early 1930s - but I enjoy swing, big bands, acoustic era (pre-1925) dance bands and jazz. I am a fanatic about ragtime. I also enjoy late 19th and early 20th century light classical and operaetta recordings. I am a HUGE fan of German recordings from the 1920s and 1930s - and, unfortunately, they are terribly difficult to find here in the USA. I present recordings each week of some of the 78 rpms in my collection - along with those from the collections of my regular guest contributors - on my personal website at http://dismuke.org/how

 

[Spitfire]

Can't wote.
I have none!But I have far too many CDs...

 

[Fletch]

Can't wote.

Don't feel bad. I doubt any of us can "wote."

ps: it's "vote"

 

[Spitfire]

lol lol lol Thanks...don't even know what wote is....:eusa_doh:

 

[zaika]

ooooh, you guys. i'm so jealous of your collections. i have been collecting for a whole year and i have two that are playable...and about four that aren't. [huh] except for one (the Bessie Smith 78), they came in a lot for about ten bucks.
my pride and joy, which may be nothing to you serious collectors, is a 78 of Bessie Smith...Gimmie a Pigsfoot and Take Me For a Buggyride.
the other one is Tommy Dorsey w/ Frank Sinatra.