DEALER SITES
NAUCK'S
VINTAGE RECORDS - One of the world’s premiere
auction sites for rare 78-rpm records, cylinders, and transcriptions.
Kurt also offers an extensive catalog of reference materials for
collectors, plus top-quality variable-speed turntables and audio
equipment. The site also includes an interesting gallery of rare
labels, and other free content.
LAWRENCE
HOLDRIDGE - Hosted by one of the foremost dealers
and experts in rare classical and operatic records. Larry's annual
auction catalogs are truly encyclopedic, running to hundreds of
pages and containing a wealth of biographical information and rare
photos. The latest edition is posted here in Adobe Acrobat. The
site also offers scans of rare labels, an extensive resource list,
and links to current eBay offerings.
VINTAGE
JAZZ MART - The online counterpart to VJM magazine,
and one of the finest traditional jazz sites on the web. In addition
to its legendary jazz and blues record auctions, VJM publishes
some excellent original research on its website.
HAWTHORN'S
ANTIQUE AUDIO - Another high-quality auction with a
wide selection of records; plus sheet music, machines, repairs,
and appraisal service at their California retail locations. The
site features good photos of selected auction items.
APSCO
(ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPH SUPPLY CO.) - A virtual supermarket
of high-quality phonograph replacement and repair parts, steel needles,
accessories, new record sleeves and cylinder tubes, and miscellaneous
items for collectors. Excellent quality and service.
KAB
- The top source for variable-speed turntables, Stanton
and Expert (UK) custom 78 styli, sound restoration equipment, record
cleaners, sleeves, and accessories. Highly recommended.
ORGANIZATIONS
CALIFORNIA
ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPH SOCIETY - A growing collectors'
organization with worldwide membership that includes collectors
and researchers of all levels and experience. The society hosts
a major annual sale in California. The modest membership fee includes
a subscription to The Soundbox, a fascinating and well-produced
quarterly journal. Highly recommended.
ASSOCIATION
FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS - Focused largely on
issues of interest to librarians and institutional archivists, although
its membership includes private collectors. ARSC promotes serious
discussion and research into the history, technology, collecting,
and preservation of recorded sound from all periods. The group publishes
a semi- annual journal, as well as a newsletter, and hosts an annual
conference.
ONLINE SOUND FILES
CYLINDER
PRESERVATION AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT (UCSB) - An excellent
overview of the cylinder record, with illustrated company histories,
sound files, and a searchable collection listing. Compiled by David
Seubert at the Davidson Library, University of California—Santa
Barbara.
RED
HOT JAZZ - This massive online jazz archive hosts
more than 7,000 historic jazz recordings in Real Audio, all free
of charge. The quality of the accompanying biographical and discographical
data is uneven but should not detract from your listening pleasure.
INFORMATIONAL SITES AND BLOGS
THE
MAINSPRING RECORD COLLECTORS' BLOG - Our popular new
blog, covering everything from Berliner to the blues. Includes short
articles, news, photos of historic records and ephemera, and expertly
digitized sound files.
TELEVISION
AND RECORD INDUSTRY HISTORY RESOURCES - A new website
from Tim Brooks, author of Lost Sounds, The Complete
Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, two volumes
of The Columbia Master Book Discography, and other major
works. The site includes authoritative articles, book and CD reviews,
and an extensive collection of links.
PHONOZOIC
(PATRICK FEASTER)
- Featuring superbly researched articles on
the very earliest days of recorded sound.
EXCAVATED
SHELLAC
-
Dedicated to ethnic and vernacular music on
78s. A great array of rare performances and labels, complemented
by well-researched postings.
SOUND
OF THE HOUND - An imaginative, wide-ranging blog covering
everything from wax cylinders to CDs, with lots of intriguing postings
on acoustic-era material.
THE
BIXOGRAPHY DISCUSSION GROUP - An astonishing resource
devoted to Bix Beiderbecke. Like most discussion groups, this one
offers offers hundreds of postings ranging from quirky to invaluable.
Among the many interesting items to be found here are scans from
band contractor Ed Kirkeby's journals.
THE
BLUE PAGES: THE GUIDE TO 78 RPM PARTY RECORDS - David
Diehl's often-amusing site devoted to those long-neglected "under-the-counter"
78s.
A
BRIEF HISTORY OF RECORDED SOUND IN CANADA - A superbly
written and beautifully illustrated history from the National Library
of Canada. Focus is on early Berliner products.
ENGLISH
RECORD LABELS (and much more, on NORMAN FIELDS' WEBSITE) -
A dazzling array of hundreds of English labels, primarily from the
early 1900s through the 1920s, with outstanding scans and some helpful
explanatory text. The site also includes an outstanding section
devoted to Bix Beiderbecke and his circle, and other jazz-related
topics, with some very interesting sound files.
KIDDIE
REKORD KING - Peter Muldavin's nostalgic site features
vintage children's labels, cover art, phonographs, and more, plus
news on Peter's kiddie-record discography project.
LIBRARY
OF CONGRESS SONIC CATALOG - Basic discographic data
on a portion of LOC's massive sound-record holdings. A word of caution,
however: Errors were made in transcribing information from labels,
and unconfirmed data from questionable secondary sources have been
added. These problems remain corrected, and no additional data have
been posted in years.
LITTLE
WONDER RECORDS AND BUBBLE BOOKS - A beautiful site
devoted to the history and collecting of these diminutive 78s.
MAJESTIC
PHONOGRAPH CO., INC. & MAJESTIC RECORDS - A highly
detailed study of Majestic vertical-cut records, one of the shorter-lived
hill-and-dale brands of the pre-World War I period.
PARAMOUNT
RECORD DATABASE - An ongoing project of the Mills Music
Library, University of Wisconsin, to catalog Paramount and its subsidiary
labels. Excellent source of data on the Paramount material (pop,
classical, and ethnic, for instance) that discographers have tended
to overlook.
THE
78 RPM RECORD HOMEPAGE - Gary Herzenstiel's eclectic
site includes some excellent articles, news for collectors and researchers,
and label photos (including many post-1943 and foreign brands not
covered in ARLAC).
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