The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I was out spelunking today, and found a batch of acoustic Victor / Victrola Red Seal records, mostly 12 inch single-sides.

They were mostly opera, heavy on Caruso, along with things like the Quartet from Rigoletto, with Marcella Sembrich, and others, and the Sextette from Lucia de Lammermore, along with some solos from Marta; then there were several different selections by Galli-Curci, one Rheinhold Werrenrath, a few McCormacks...

Dealer had them priced at $6 each.

Condition ranged from "Fair" to "Good"; all in sleeves, but no original sleeves.


I balked at the price.

Are these indeed priced a little high, or am I "out of the loop" on record pricing ?


These selections all fit my taste in music; but at $6 a disc, it would quickly blow my budget...

6 dollars a disc is pretty high for "out in the wild" prices for real common records such as you just listed..50 cents to a couple of bucks is more like it.

Not long ago I was chatting with a second hand store owner who told me he had just recently threw away several boxes of Red Seal records and the like because they had been sitting around forever and he figured no one wanted them. It's like that still. Too bad you hadn't shown up, you might have had a few hundred records for next to nothing.

Hmmm... yeah I always love those " oh, we had a whole bunch of those for years, but we just threw them all out last week" stories...

The frustrating thing is that there were at least a dozen records I would like to have...

If it have been a couple dozen Vernon Dalharts or Homer Rodeheavers, I wouldn't have batted an eye...

(In fact, I would have offered to help lug them to the dumpster... )

I'm with ya on the Vernon Dalhart. All those Bettini cylinders and Black Patti discs, too.

Not acoustic, but throw in (out!) Al Jolson and I'll join the party!

Well, I'll gladly take any unwanted (acoustic) Jolsons that are headed for the dump...

I have one black-label Victor Jolson: "The Spaniard that blighted my life"...

Unfortunately, the old red seals don't have much value. I typically pick them up at $1 or less a copy unless it is a really pristine copy of something. I like Caruso, but so many of them were pressed they aren't worth much.

Clay

I agree with pretty much everyone else. Those are $1-$2 a piece records. Nothing really rare or exciting there.

At $6 a piece, he/she is going to be sitting on them a long time.

Unfortunately, many people ignorant of 78 values, think that if it's a 78 and Caruso is on it, it must be a "collector's item" and price it accordingly. In fact, the store owner may think $6 a record for these antiques is low. If you try to convince him or her that they are only worth $1 to $2 each, they think you trying to get them for nothing. I've seen common Decca Bing Crosby records and such selling for $10 to $12 a record. Antique stores are tough places to find deals on records.

Well, I don't mind paying "a little more" for music I really enjoy ( as opposed to the "flap-doodle" one usually finds), but $6 a piece seemed excessive, and I thought a "price check" was warranted...

I will bide my time and see what I find at Wayne...


De Soto Frank