Cardboard records?

[Tinkerbell]

Strictly from a collecting standpoint, and not for the purpose of being played, are any cardboard records ever considered to be highly collectible/valuable?

[52089]

What kind of cardboard records are you referring to? The Hit of the Week records are popular. I posted previously about postcards that have records bonded to them. And of course there are the cereal box records from the 60's. All are collectible, yes, but not necessarily valuable.

I recently picked up a small "cardboard" record that turned out to be an ad for Chevrolet sometime in the 1930's. They wanted the recipient to know that they were taking as much as $55 off the current price of the new Chevy!

[Tinkerbell]

What kind of cardboard records are you referring to? The Hit of the Week records are popular. I posted previously about postcards that have records bonded to them. And of course there are the cereal box records from the 60's. All are collectible, yes, but not necessarily valuable.

I recently picked up a small "cardboard" record that turned out to be an ad for Chevrolet sometime in the 1930's. They wanted the recipient to know that they were taking as much as $55 off the current price of the new Chevy!

For instance:

In November of 1956, the magazine "Elvis Answers Back" included a 78 rpm cardboard record "The Truth About Me," (Rainbo records).

[Phototone]

Probably the most widely popular "cardboard" records today are the Hit of the Week records, which have very good music (jazzy pop tunes) of the early 1930's. They generally sound quite nice when played on a modern turntable with suitable stylus (3 mil).

[52089]

For instance:

In November of 1956, the magazine "Elvis Answers Back" included a 78 rpm cardboard record "The Truth About Me," (Rainbo records).

That is indeed worthwhile. At one time they were in the $100 range, but I think a cache of them was discovered and that lowered the value. If I recall correctly, there are at least 2 variations of this one. There are a couple on ebay on the $20-$30 range now.

[52089]

Thanks to Sean's post about the WFMU archive, I found this link to a collection of cardboard records. Enjoy!

http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/

[Tinkerbell]

Thanks to Sean's post about the WFMU archive, I found this link to a collection of cardboard records. Enjoy!

http://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/

That was a really fun website to visit and be able to sample some of the records. Thank you for posting this!

[syncopeter]

Before the thin flexible vinyl records became popular here in Europe, cardboard discs were quite often used for advertising purposes. In good condition, particularly with the original sleeve, these are highly collectible. Mind you, they were never meant to be played more than 5 times, so NEVER play one on your wind-up.

[dd2u]

There are some remarkable "on line" discographies and collections of these records. For example...

http://www.durium.opweb.nl/

http://78records.cdbpdx.com/HOTW/

http://hitoftheweek.blogspot.co.uk/

...and also CD re-issues...
http://www.archeophone.com/product_info ... ucts_id=61

The Duriums issued in the UK typically sell now for a couple of pounds each if the content is unexceptional. If the disc still has its original sleeve, clip, leaflet and cardboard inner then it will go for more, maybe £5-£10. There are many famous artists hidden behind pseudonyms, and these can go for more.

As syncopeter says, it is easy to destroy these on a gramophone, and many are found with the outside grooves ruined. However, many are found in played but good condition, so clearly the radiograms of the day did not do them too much harm.

[gramophone78]

Then there were these records that were made around 1904 with a fiber material with a thin celluloid coating.