SH Spotlight Do you want to hear two amazing RCA-Victor 78s from 1932? Ted Weems, Isham Jones..

Some versions of Caruso's 1908 recording of La donna e mobile...


ca. 1976 Soundstream computer 'restoration'...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD_zJhy-XMY

ca. 1927 Electrical dub with new orchestra accompaniment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4NorV9DHFY

ca. 2000 dub with new orchestra accompaniment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvV5go3kSSw

The original un tampered version (best quality I could find on YouTube)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aef9DGvZ8Qo

 

Thats a shame about the originals being unavailable for so long, but probably a good thing, considering how much wear and tear on the original metal parts was avoided.
That early digital restoration effort has been what i've beeen stuck with on cd since I was 11, but it has served me well.

Now time for sad story of the day.

About 8 years ago, my next door neighbor had to forclose his house. Or he was evicted, or something like that. I'm not sure of the story to be honest. I did however, find out afterwards, that he was an avid 78 collector. He had period machines, victors and victrolas, other brands, all sorts of stuff. Now, after he was no longer living there, a very large dumpster found its way onto his front lawn, with all his belongings finding their way inside of it. I'm not entirely sure if any of his talking machines were inside of that dumpster, waiting to be hauled off to the dump, but I do know that overflowing out from the top were hundreds, if not thousands of discs. I was 11 at the time (this find sparked my interest in Caruso, tempted me to seek out the Complete collection on cd)
Numerous records littered the sidewalk, in shards. Every disc I could reach from the top was cracked in 2 or more pieces. Everyone I could grab was a single faced Caruso disc, and every one of them looked to have been in absolute pristine E+ condition, had they not been in pieces.

I kid you not. I'm not even mad about the fact that I didn't benefit from this by "inheriting" one ****load of a collection. I'm angry that someone had the nerve to treat these artifacts in such an indescribably cruel way.

 

That is too bad. Perhaps a lifetime of a carefully procured collection gone to a landfill.

There's a population of older 78 collectors who may be not around too many more years, and one wonders what will happen to their collections. Hopefully, the internet and it's resources could now help siphon off some of them rather than wholesale destructions like you describe. They're hard to get rid of at street level, some thrift stores won't even take them anymore.

 

Post WWII settlements aren't good place to find 78's, as a rule, I think.

But...New York city isn't far off. I bet there are still plenty of nooks ' crannies one could look for old records. New York was also the site of much recording activity back then. Columbia, Brunswick, Edison, Victor etc. etc. all had recording studios in New York in the old days.

 

What will happen to the collections?


...I will

Anyhow, I have a whole box of 78s I just can't keep, for a lack of storage space as well as a lack of interest in the recorded material. The closest (only) thrift store by me doesn't want them, neither do any of the record stores. I'd really rather these didn't go to a landfill, even if they have more value for use as a dissloved shellac varnish on my roof.

 

some more hot jazz...

Erwing Brothers Orchestra ~ 1933 Vocalion 2564

Side A: Rhythm
Side B: The Erwing Blues

 

victrolaman sure does have some great early recordings and phonograph machines!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QNikxbXuYM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDeg1K8KRAk

 

Thanks Steve.

Best Wishes
David

 

The Gabel Automatic Entertainer was something else. Changed out the needle with every play!


http://www.antiquemechanicalrestorations.com/Gable_Entertainer.html

A video showing off the features, mechanics and workings of the mighty Victor 10-50 > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krsijE7TCZM