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The Mainspring
A Free Online Journal from Mainspring Press                                  
                  CONTENTS


SELECTED LINKS FOR COLLECTORS

Please e-mail if you would like us to consider a link to your site. Sites may have a commercial component, as long as they also offer substantive articles or other free content related to pre-1940 records, phonographs, or collecting. With certain exceptions, we do not link to purely commercial sales sites.

NOTE: If you use a pop-up blocker, you may need to hold down the CONTROL key while clicking each link.

FEATURED SITES:

NEW TELEVISION AND RECORD INDUSTRY HISTORY RESOURCES - A new website edited by the 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.

THOMAS EDISON'S ATTIC - This weekly radio show hosted by Jerry Fabris, audio curator of the Edison National Historic Site, regularly aired test pressings, experimental recordings, and other rarities from the ENHS. The show went off the air in late 2007 after a long run, but happily, the archived broadcasts remain available online.

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 Kirekby's original journals.

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.

NAUCK'S VINTAGE RECORDS - One of the world’s premiere auction sites for rare recordings. Also offers an extensive catalog of books and discographies for collectors, plus top-quality variable-speed turntables and audio equipment, including the Archeophone cylinder deck.

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 excellent original research on its website.

ASSOCIATION FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS - With more than 1,200 members, ARSC promotes serious discussion and research into all aspects of the history, technology, collecting, and preservation of recorded sound. Membership benefits include the biannual ARSC Journal, quarterly newsletter, and discounted rates for the ARSC Annual Conference. Collectors and researchers of all levels of experience are welcome.


AL JOLSON SOCIETY - A must-visit site for all fans of the "World's Greatest Entertainer." An abundance of interesting historical material, including sound clips.

ALLEN KOENIGSBERG'S RESOURCES FOR PHONOGRAPH COLLECTORS - The former editor of Antique Phonograph Monthly offers a fine selection of books, resources, and links for serious collectors.

AMERICAN VARIETY STAGE: VAUDEVILLE AND POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT, 1870-1920 - Multimedia site from the Library of Congress features many sound files (mostly from Edison recordings) and rare film clips.

ANTIQUE RADIO RESOURCES - Links to numerous radio-, phonograph- and record- related sites on the Net.

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. Great quality and service.

ART GILLHAM, THE WHISPERING PIANIST - George Blau's site devoted to the popular Columbia recording star. Includes sound files and a fine collection of photos and other rare source material from Gillham's long and varied career.

THE BLUE PAGES: THE GUIDE TO 78 RPM PARTY RECORDS - David Diehl's masterful, and often amusing, site devoted to those long-neglected "under-the-counter" 78s. Also includes extensive information on Eli Oberstein, one of the most unethical and colorful of the early independent record producers.

BLUES WORLD - The ultimate blues link site also features a fine array of articles and features on blues and blues roots, plus one of the most useful links pages on the web. A bonus is Joel Slotnikoff's auction of choice 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.

BRITISH DANCE BAND ENCYCLOPEDIA / BRITISH 78 RECORD LABELS - A tremendous amount of information on English dance bands of the 1920s and 1930s, on a well-organized site. Equally interesting is an extensive sub-site featuring scans and brief comments on hundreds of English 78 labels.

THE CANADIAN COLUMBIA GROUP OF LABELS, 1921-1931 - Colin J. Bray and Jack Litchfield's detailed, illustrated treatise on how to distinguish Canadian from U.S. Columbia 78s.

CANADIAN HISTORICAL SOUND RECORDINGS: BIOGRAPHIES - Authoritative biographies of Canadian recording pioneers, some of whom also had successful U.S. careers. From the National Library of Canada.

CANADIAN HISTORICAL SOUND RECORDINGS DATABASE - This database, when completed, will provide a detailed picture of the 78-rpm era in Canada. A large amount of basic data is already online and is fully searchable. A very promising site from the National Library of Canada.

CLASSIC RECORD COLLECTOR - The premiere quarterly for advanced collectors of vintage classical and operatic records (78 and LP). Their site includes free articles from current and past issues, a back-issue index, and subscription information

CRAP-O-PHONES AND OTHER PHONOGRAPH FORGERIES - The ultimate Crap-O-Phone identification guide. These trashy fake "Gramophones," mass-produced in Asia, are flooding eBay and the flea markets. Check the detailed photos on this site to avoid making a costly mistake!

THE DEVIL'S MUSIC - Extensive blues website with artist bios, photographs and videos, blues lyrics, merchandise, and a guest forum.

THE EARLY DAYS OF RECORDING JEWISH MUSIC - Stellar research from Paul Vernon, offering fascinating insights into early Jewish recordings and record companies in the U.S.

THE E-DISCOGRAPHER - David Diehl's online digest features articles by Brian Rust, Ray Wile, Ross Laird, and other major researchers. Issue #3 features an extensive bibliography of label research.

EDDIE LANG - A TRUE JAZZ PIONEER - A new site by Mike Peters devoted to the pioneering jazz guitarist. Includes a useful sessionography, photos, and other interesting features.

EDISON NATIONAL HISTORICAL SITE - NPS expanded site includes rare photos, short articles, and sound files. (See also "Thomas Edison's Attic," in the Featured Links section.)

THE ENGINEERS: EARLY GRAMOPHONE COMPANY RECORDINGS ABROAD - Paul Vernon's superbly researched investigation of the early engineers who traveled the world recording indigenous music.

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.

THE GENNETT COLLECTION, UCLA MUSIC LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS - Detailed discographical data on UCLA's extensive Gennett holdings.

THE GERMAN NATIONAL DISCOGRAPHY - Information on this massive undertaking to catalog all German 78s. A promotional site, but well worth visiting for its gorgeous photos of rare German labels.

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. Site features good photos of selected auction items.

BLUES IMAGES - John Tefteller's site is a must-see for fans of traditional blues, featuring images of incredibly rare discs and ephemera, plus a great selection of blues-related calendars, posters, photos, records, and other merchandise.

KAB - The top source for variable-speed turntables, Stanton and Expert (UK) custom 78 styli, sound restoration equipment, record cleaners, sleeves, and accessories. Excellent service, and highly recommended.

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 - Locate basic discographic data on a part of LOC's massive sound-record holdings with a robust and well-designed search engine. (A word of caution, however: Errors that apparently occurred in transcribing information from the labels, although infrequent, have not been corrected.)

LITTLE WONDER RECORDS AND BUBBLE BOOKS - A beautiful new site devoted to the history and collecting of these diminutive 78s. Includes the latest corrections and updates to the Tim Brooks Little Wonder discography.

MICHIGAN ANTIQUE PHONOGRAPH SOCIETY - Homepage of MAPS, which publishes In the Groove, an informative monthly newsletter for members. Site includes information on state and regional chapters (they're not just in Michigan anymore).

MUSIC HALL 78 RPM RECORDS - Roger Wilmut's site is devoted to recordings from the golden age of the British music hall (the English counterpart of American vaudeville). Includes sound files of recordings made as early as 1897-1898, plus technical articles on reproducing and equalizing historic recordings.

NATION'S FORUM: AMERICAN LEADERS SPEAK - An outstanding multimedia site from the Library of Congress. Includes a detailed history of the Nation's Forum label, discographical details, and complete sound files for this entire series of rare political recordings.

OKIN-LYNTON RECORD RESOURCE - Features an outstanding gallery of photos of Golden Age operatic stars, as well as some rare European labels. Okin & Lynton also supply dubbings to CD producers from their extensive collection.

OLD HAT RECORDS - Outstanding CD reissues of classic country and blues rarities of the 1920s-1930s.

THE ONLINE DISCOGRAPHICAL PROJECT - An ambitious project that varies tremendously in the quality of data presented. The listings for 1920s and early 1930s minor labels are often badly flawed, and even the major-label listings contain serious errors. However, the focus seems to have shifted lately to research on 1940s and 1950s labels and radio transcriptions, using what appear to be more reliable data sources. While many listings should be viewed skeptically, the site holds great promise and encourages users to submit additions and corrections.

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.

PARAMOUNT'S DECLINE AND FALL - Stephen Calt & Gayle Dean Wardlow's classic study of the legendary jazz-and-blues label's last days, from 78 Quarterly.

PHONOFAN - Author Tim Fabrizio's site for antique-phonograph collectors. The site focuses primarily on books for collectors, featuring Fabrizio & Paul's lavishly illustrated tomes. Also has a fine assortment of machines and gadgets for sale at set prices.

THE RAGTIME EPHEMERALIST - One of the most important ragtime publications, and certainly the most visually attractive. The website features some "teaser" excerpts from the magazine that are well worth a visit.

RED HOT JAZZ - This massive online jazz archive hosts more than 7,000 historic jazz recordings in Real Audio, all free of charge. Includes photos, biographies, and rudimentary discographies of all major and many minor figures of the 1920s.

78 QUARTERLY - The premier journal for collectors of classic jazz and blues. Not really a quarterly (more like a sporadic biannual), but their site is well worth a visit for its ongoing Paramount series.

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).

THE STARR-GENNETT FOUNDATION - A nonprofit organization undertaking several ambitious projects to preserve the Gennett heritage in Richmond, Indiana. Good historical background, plus some very fine CD reissues of Gennett rarities.

TIM GRACYK - Tim Gracyk's Victrola & 78 Journal is no longer with us, but his webpage lives on with an interesting group of articles for novice-to-advanced collectors. Also has details of his biographical encyclopedia of pioneer recording stars and many reprint publications.

VICTORY MUSIC: THE STORY OF THE V-DISC RECORD LABEL - Chuck Miller's informative label history (1943-1949), originally published in Goldmine. Includes label photos.

 



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