The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Jwb88 wrote:Whatever happened to the blue-green 10" paper sleeves? All I see anymore is that bright yellow color. Anyone have (or know of a good source for) new paper sleeves similar to the one pictured? Or maybe tan, even? Anything but bright yellow?

Thanks!

-John

Wondering: are the green sleeves any better for DDs than the yellow ones? Sometimes the yellow sleeves are too tight, and end up tearing.

Bill

Jwb88 wrote:...I’m probably in an extreme minority, but I think C-250s look far better in mahogany than oak. The oak grain competes with the elegance of the design, in my opinion. But age seems to be much kinder to oak finishes, and oak is more durable, so I can see why it might be preferred. Plus, tiger oak graining adds a lot of flashiness to otherwise plain cabinets. The grass is always greener, too! Lol.

You can make that a minority of at least two.

For what it's worth, I store my "real" DD collection in catalogue number order in a couple of 4-drawer office file cabinets designed for filing 8.5 X 11 documents. The drawers are just the right size for DDs, robust enough to hold the weight, and easy to pull in and out, and the records face outward for easy browsing--or, at least, it would be easy if I hadn't already filled the drawers more or less tight . The discs are in a motley assortment of (usually tatty) original Edison sleeves, 10" generic sleeves of various sorts and colors, and in two or three cases those fancy presentation boxes that housed the original issues when they first were hitting the market (as usual for Edison paper, in pretty sad condition). The drawers in my C-250 are relegated, I'm sad to say, to storing dupes awaiting "de-accessioning" and a bunch of conventional shellac discs about which I don't really care very much. A small subset of the DD collection is on the shelf of my A-150 housed in what I now know to be the 10" storage boxes from an L-door Victrola; "wrong" historically, but the same general idea as the original Edison boxes, and, on the rare occasions when those turn up, they usually are in awful condition and go for more than the machine itself is worth.

Oh, if anyone is interested in following my example, please note: you must buy true office grade file cabinets, preferably the older, more sturdy ones that sometimes turn up at thrift or used furniture stores rather than the cheapened versions currently in office supply stores, although the latter probably would still be stout enough. The flimsy stamped steel things at places like Target will not be sufficiently stout to bear the weight of DDs, and their drawers typically don't pull out far enough to allow for retrieval of discs in the back.

I'll report back on how the green sleeves fit after they arrive unless anyone else who has bought these from Bags Unlimited cares to chime in.

The file cabinet idea seems very practical. I think the drawer system of storing records is the easiest for browsing (although I always pack them tight, too). Vertically with the edges out looks better, of course. But I still slightly favor the drawers.

I absolutely love the old Edison sleeves with their commentary of the selections. Sometimes it's a little funny or painful to read, but I've noticed that a lot of the early ones state who the vocalist is on records that may otherwise say "Baritone" or something similar. Usually not a big deal because most of the time we can figure it out--but some of the commentary also includes the background singers' names.

The problem for me is that the early sleeves weren't meant to have clipped corners, it seems, as the commentary runs along the bottom of them. They don't fit well in the C-250 drawers. They only fit in the bottom drawer (which I assume is larger to accommodate the 12" Edison discs that never came to be) so it's throwing a wrench in my organization plans. Filing cabinets are looking better and better.

For the, uh, record, my two (mismatched) file cabinets are a putty-colored HON that I took when my old employer downsized better than a decade ago, nicer than the ones now available in office stores, and a very old woodgrain-paint-on-steel Shaw Walker that I bought for $10 at our local thrift store. I should have mentioned that the drawers work well for standard 10" DDs but are not tall enough for 12" LP discs or dealer samples.

I had a funny thought about Edison sleeves for your machine's drawers: if they are in the usual shabby condition but you want to preserve the text at the bottom, what about inverting them and clipping the top corners instead? OK, a little weird, I'll grant, but it might be a way to keep records and sleeve text together.

Well, back to square one.

Bags Unlimited wrote me to say they are out of the green sleeves and have no idea when they might get more in.

I believe they are probably discontinued. We're all stuck with yellow or white now. (Ugly) yellow or (easily soiled) white. What's the world coming to?!?

If anyone finds a source, please let me know.
Thanks!

PS: All this news about record collecting "coming back" for twenty years, yet limited supplies? And whatever happened to cardboard storage boxes for cylinders? We're all going to have to start making this stuff ourselves!

Jwb88 wrote:Well, back to square one.

Bags Unlimited wrote me to say they are out of the green sleeves and have no idea when they might get more in.

I believe they are probably discontinued. We're all stuck with yellow or white now. (Ugly) yellow or (easily soiled) white. What's the world coming to?!?

If anyone finds a source, please let me know.
Thanks!

PS: All this news about record collecting "coming back" for twenty years, yet limited supplies? And whatever happened to cardboard storage boxes for cylinders? We're all going to have to start making this stuff ourselves!

They aren’t discontinued, this happens often. The paper supplier they use for these is unreliable. Keep calling and eventually they will have them back again. Then buy a lot of them!

Otherwise, you'd have to pay a LOT more for Disc-o-File sleeves. I don't know about the green ones, but the white kraft Bags Unlimited sleeves had about one in five (if you're lucky) that are glued loose enough to accommodate a Diamond Disc without tearing the last time I bought them.

Edit: I see now they say "Will hold Edison Diamond Discs" on them. Well, about two years ago they sure didn't. Have they changed?