The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I'm prorbably, the only person on here, who buys discs, and cylinders, regradless, of what is on them. All, of the cylinders, and DD's I own. Were bought this way, mainly because, I was fortuente enough to find them. As for the 78's, well... I have bought a few, for a particular song, style, or artist.

Paul

I purchased a cool metal 78 carrying case this week at a sale, it came with 50 records. Didn't have a clue as to what they were till I got them home. Then the usual problem in sued, after playing them I had a hard time deciding I might part with them. I rarely hear a record in good shape that I don't think has some value to hear from time to time. Fortunately these were from the early to mid 50's and have excellent sound. Probably nothing worth anything to anyone but me, but I often get lots of records reasonable out here and then find some things I want. I don't have an absolute favorite type of music and enjoy some of about everything, so my satisfaction level is easier reached than if I only focused on one kind.

I just got about 50 records for FREE!

Edisonfan wrote:I'm prorbably, the only person on here, who buys discs, and cylinders, regradless, of what is on them.

Hah! Not true. The majority of my Diamond Disc collection (I have about 250, around 30 being duplicates) were made in 2 separate purchases. The only DD's I have purchased by title are the electrics for my Edisonic.

I stopped by an estate sale once and there were maybe around 80 of those classical music "record books" in 3 matching wooden cabinets. They let me have it all, cabinets included for $50.

I stopped by OrthoSean's house once on a trip down from Rochester back to NJ. He filled my car with many many boxes of loose records, some of which I still have yet to go thru.

Estate sales in NJ are great for little troves of old records. Sometimes I offer a price for the entire bunch, sometimes I cherry pick.

Paul,

Speaking only for myself, when I first got into this hobby I was buying EVERY shellac, Diamond Disc, and cylinder I could find. But when the copies of "White Christmas" and other common records started to encroach into my living space, I had to become more selective, not to mention you're going to like only a few genres of music, and then actively seek those. That is one of the fun aspects of this hobby, the thrill of the chase!!!

Bill

WOW!

The records, I just picked up today, I found one Edison DD The Rosary and A Dream. Plus a bunch of Zon-o-Phone discs, in paper sleeves, with "The Pennsylvania Railroad Broad Street Station Philadelhia, PA.

The rest were Victor, Columbia, Brusnwick, Banner.

Still going through.

Paul

When I started collecting I too aquired everything I came across. As I have progressed through the hobby I have become more picky about what I purchase, particularly around era and music type.

I think it is a natural part of the learning process. There are items I paid way too much for and those I got for song After you invest a certain amount you learn what you want and what it is worth. Sort of like "paying your dues".

The hard part will be finding a way to part with the items I don't want....

Well that is true Bill, I find going through 78's there are some I will buy, and others I will not. As for the DD's and Cylinders, Well... Those I don't find as often as the 78's, so I am still grabbing those. Although, I am staying away, from the religous stuff, even though I have a few. I also like to look for the unusal songs as well.

Paul

Brad wrote:When I started collecting I too acquired everything I came across. As I have progressed through the hobby I have become more picky about what I purchase, particularly around era and music type.

And given time, you get more of an idea of what you like versus what you don’t like, and so you tend to stick with artists and eras from which you prefer their music.

Brad wrote:I think it is a natural part of the learning process. There are items I paid way too much for and those I got for song After you invest a certain amount you learn what you want and what it is worth. Sort of like "paying your dues".

I agree with Brad completely here—and it is a sad day when you stop learning.

I still lack a lot of knowledge about the machines and music here, although I’m definitely more knowledgeable about the music, and I’ve learned quite a bit from knowing John and from reading what has been posted on both iterations of this board.

We’ve been very fortunate that we have a lot of people on here with huge collections (I’d love to see more of phonogfp’s collection, and there are a lot of other collectors who have a wealth of machines that they enjoy sharing).

Brad wrote:The hard part will be finding a way to part with the items I don't want....

Why part with anything until you run out of space?

— MordEth

I need more cabinet space.

Paul