How to Organize a 78 Collection

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PeterF
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by PeterF »

Diamond discs are easy, especially since there is a spreadsheet (available online and on this forum; just search) that one can easily modify into a personal inventory. I have mine shelved in numeric order, with an old surplus iPad nearby with my version of the spreadsheet on it. Super easy.

The 78s are all over the place, mostly in albums. Some of them are by label and some by artist, and I can’t find anything - ever - as a result. Pathé discs are in the record storage in the Actuelle machine, and Berliners are in a little wooden box made for them.

The big 10-50 has its magazine boxes filled with pre-programmed selections.

Eventually I hope to cull the 78s to a manageable number, then organize them on shelves by label and then numeric - which will require creating an index for each. Probably certain key favorite artists will have their own sections that have records from their various labels mixed together. There is probably going also to be a favorites section with certain great records. And finally, since it’s all going to tumble down in an earthquake someday, the really valuable ones will need to be segregated into some sort of hardened storage, probably metal boxes, to improve their chances.

The key to all of this is accessibility and safety. Whatever works for you is what you should do!

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AudioFeline
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by AudioFeline »

PeterF wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 11:38 am ...Eventually I hope to cull the 78s to a manageable number, ...
Peter, please don't get the girl in your avatar to help you cull your 78's!

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PeterF
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by PeterF »

That’s Donna Reed, and the only record she is known to break is “Buffalo Gals” - and that only because she’s mad at Jimmy Stewart.

How can anyone be mad at Jimmy Stewart?

Maybe she’s jealous of his relationship with his gigantic (yet, perhaps, invisible) rabbit friend Harvey.

Here, you be the judge:

https://youtu.be/nNE0bqxDOiU

HMVDevotee
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by HMVDevotee »

As ALANG recommends, this topic had many useful remarks earlier. I am reposting my system because my original images are irretrievable.

I use a series of repurposed LaserDisk storage cabinets that index my 78s in round bottomed sleeves that are lettered and numbered by their respective cabinet and storage slot.

I use a spreadsheet to index their location that also includes columns of info for sorting in order to find specific records. I "classify" records by type of music (C=classical, BDB=British dance band, NOJ= New Orleans Jazz, etc.) and include columns for title (alphabetical sort), featured artist, etc. I keep a two stage sort (Type, alphabetical title) printed by my gramophone.

I then assemble my "playlist" by placing the records in a rack to be played, to which they are returned after playing and await their return to their respective cabinets and slots.

The images shown below are for the first cabinet that is not "lettered"... the slots are just numbered. Other cabinets are "lettered" A though J for the 10 cabinets I have, and their record sleeves have the letter recorded as well as their numbers, "C-14" for example. I like this system because I don't have to fiddle with physical classifications and sorting through mini-stacks of similar records. With this system, I can add records easily to my collection because adding or finding a record isn't dependent upon physically grouping them. I just catalog their location on my spreadsheet as they are added. Also, this system reduces record handling. Each record returns to it's individual slot without touching other records.
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Last edited by HMVDevotee on Thu Nov 17, 2022 9:07 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Dischoard
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by Dischoard »

I have a few 12X12" Ikea-type shelving units that I purchased from Lowes I think. They are 3 sections across by 3 sections down, I think $40 for each of them. They are stuffed full of 78s, have been for a number of years, with no sign (yet) of buckling. All my records are organized by label chronologically by catalog number. There are, of course, a number of instances where I've given some artists their own section such as my Woody Herman, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Tommy Dorsey, etc. Then those are not cataloged chronologically but alphabetically by label and then chronologically by catalog number. I did make a special case and that is for the Paul Whiteman records, those are stored in chronological order by release date.

I have a section in one room with all the Victors (and Victor related like RCA Victor and Bluebirds) and Columbias (and Columbia related like Okeh), as well as individual artists and then I have another room containing another such system with all the "off" brand labels (Perfect, Vocalion, Harmony, Grey Gull, etc). I have yet to go through my 12" collection but I think a lot of this will end up getting donated as so much of it is classical music and stuff that I'm not really interested in.

I do have a VE 8-30X Credenza in which I store all my Victor Scroll labels (and an old oak record box next to it for the overflow) and a Columbia Model 710 where I store all my black Columbia Viva-tonal records. All my Edison DDs get stored with my Edison W&M machine (and the overflow in a crate next to that machine) but for the most part I follow the rules above. At this point I haven't found a need to change that though I have, at times, not been able to find a record and oh boy, do the gloves come off then! I use Discogs as an online spreadsheet in order to keep track of and sort my collection. Whenever I find a double I can also list it through there for sale but not many folks shopping online for a $3 or $4 record, especially when you have to pay shipping. That's why I always combine shipping and ship medial mail in order to keep costs down.

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Marco Gilardetti
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by Marco Gilardetti »

Inigo wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:40 am I'm using a similar system for classical music records. But I'm resisting to do that with the popular stuff, because I like to take a bunch from the shelves that is mixed, to play one after another...
I agree with this, and that's the reason why I keep my 78s not really sorted. When I have time to play them, I like to go across them and listen also to the "lesser" ones - that I think I would never really play, were they strictly ordered by composer/year/singer or whatever. So the only thing I really do is to separate classical music from swing/jazz, and also to grossly divide the records by decade, as having acoustic / electric / orthophonic records intermixed would require different gramophones / turntables to be used at the same time, which is very unpractical (and I also happen to dislike, from an acoustic standpoint).

Spoken word / comedy records are also intermixed with the others, as I would basically never listen to them if they were separated from musical records; moreover I also strictly follow the unwritten rule than whenever a spoken record comes at hand, it is mandatory to listen to it at once. :D

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Inigo
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by Inigo »

It also happens to me...
Inigo

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Frisco The Beagle
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by Frisco The Beagle »

A sub-section of my overall collection of 78's are World War 2 V-Discs produced by the US War Department. V-Discs were individually numbered when produced, and have all types of music (jazz, swing, operatic, classical, country, etc.). Since each record has a unique number, they are easily stored numerically by their original number. It was also easy to create an inventory on a spreadsheet (I use Google Sheets). I list V-Disc number, artist/band, song title and style of music for each record.

A couple things I've learned:
- Use the "sort" functions on the spreadsheet to create separate lists sorted by number, artist/band and song title (and other categories you may want). This is handy if you are trying to find a specific song or just want to listen to a certain band/artist.
- I created a smaller version of the spreadsheet that I can use as a quick reference to avoid buying duplicate records.
- The idea of creating the database seems overwhelming at first, but once you get started, it moves along quickly. Add new acquisitions to the inventory right away. Add records already in your collection as you listen to them. You don't need to inventory your entire collection in one sitting!

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Lah Ca
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Re: How to Organize a 78 Collection

Post by Lah Ca »

I have started to rethink how I organise things. I have been flooded with new disk acquisitions.

I have bought Bankers Box magazine file boxes, reinforced the bottoms by placing a purpose cut rectangular piece of cardboard in the bottom to prevent the weight of the 78s from bursting the press-and-latch seams at the bottom of the boxes open, and then cut the excess height of the boxes away with a serrated box cutter so the boxes will fit in my shelves for 10" disks. The boxes seem reasonably durable and are neither expensive nor cheap--there is some modest cost involved. They are readily available at most office supply shops.
Screenshot from 2023-05-27 19-01-52.png
https://www.bankersbox.com/ca/en/Produc ... at=%7B3%7D

I am now sorting disks into rough categories for boxing: pre-1920, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Scandinavian (Norwegian, Swedish and Danish), Italian, General Ethnic-Other, Oddities, and Favourites. The time-category boxes are grab bag surprise mixes across genres, somewhat random at this point. The present and hopeful theory is that the wife and I will choose a box, which will become temporarily our entire library--we will listen to the contents of that box before choosing another. We can then cull or reassign disks, perhaps moving select ones into the favourites category.

So far, I love the Bankers Boxes. They hold 30+/- disks depending on disk and sleeve thicknesses. They stay upright on shelves and are easily handled. I am hopeful that this is THE solution. :)

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