Record Collecting

you oughta sneak on over to poetry! thanks for stopping by.....

Well, Wolf, jus hadda acute strain of show-off in me. Anyway, DO YOU collect records? What periods/labels/artists or styles? See my comment in musics introduction-topic; I go for 78s a long way. There's really good fun in there...

not sure I've even seen a 78...

the lp's that i have are from my childhood. don't own a phonograph so can't listen to them. i don't collect them in any sense even though i have a box full!

my parents have some 78's...

Yo, Kitchen, you happy happy cat! I hope they are good ones, too - what are they? People, realise that 78s were made into the 1960ies (up to then, every Elvis-single was released on vinyl- 45s (aka 7'') as well as 78s (10'' size). And earliest are from 1880ies - so you can find quite some variety here! Two days ago, I found some american WWII-troop-entertainment-records here in a small antiques shop in Germany. Great swing, folks! Really hot jazzy things, plus a white-labelled beauty with inkwriting on it announcing a song called "Schicklegr�ber". Ok, it's been misspelled, but they were making big time fun of Hitler! What a song! Wolf, you don't need a phonograph for your vinyls! Phonographs are for wax cylinders (genuine vintage Edison-tech!!), LPs are played on record players. And! lotsa very fine music has never been released on CD. Ever thought about that? But then, maybe not everybody has this virus... Just let me say, some people like to play a Les Paul (famous guitar by Gibson), I like to listen to Les Paul (famous guitar player, of whom I got some 78s). Wolf, next time you happen to stand around bored on a fleamarket (wel , you can't really get bored on fleamarkets, but still...) - next time, check some old vinyl. Maybe you find a very fine soul record of the sixties? Let's say, Joe Tex. Or old country-stuff. Take it home, ask around where to listen to it. Do it. Stacey, 78s are basically like vinyl records, because they are the medium vinyls derived from. The material (shellac) is very brittle, so they break easy and chip on the edges (that's why pre-war gramophone cabinets could be locked, so nobody - kids or servants - could play music and accidentally break 'em!). They don't play at 33 1/3 rpm like LPs or 45 rpm like Singles (which were introduced around 1949, I think), but at - tadah! - 78 rpm. Try to read the label while playing one, and you're big time dizz soon (no hangover, though!). Oh, and they are mono, as were all records before late 1950ies. These are the media our grandparents and parents grew up with, listening to Bing Crosby or Louis Armstrong, or other things. Of course, there's always some noise from scratches and the like, sound is not as crystal clear as on a CD. But that's not what I'm after - I want this musical heritage we're denied because of switches in media! Enough for today. If you still bear with me, I'll all call you to arms and rebellion against the media conspiracy tomorrow! I hope by that time I come up with a cool idea on what I'm talking about, anyway... ;=} )

So 78s are indeed what my mother stores in the bottom of the broken victrola? (speed control is all wonky!) Then I have listened to them.

yeah, alexander, i knew lps are listened to on record players. i look for stuffed steifs at flea markets rather than vinyl, but maybe i'll take a listen. what part of germany are you in? i'm from stuttgart.

Hallo Wolf, Ich bin aus Rhein-Main. Steiff-Tiere sind klasse, da habe ich auch so 1,2 stk, ;=} Record players: as you are from Germany, too, you should be able to get a nice Thorens record player. Make sure, it also spins 78 rpm and ask the sales folks what needle (diamond/saphire) you'd need for 78s. Yes, for those you'd use a different needle, as they have wider grooves that modern vinyls (who have microgrooves).

Translation of Alexander's German courtesy of Tranexp.com... "I am outfield rhine-[Main]. stiff-animals are class, there property self also so 1,2 [stk], " ja. ????

and away we go...

no worries, i got the gist of what he said. alex, i'm no longer in germany. last time i was there was about 14 years ago. still communicate with oma and opa (whom i love dearly) (for those non-german folks, oma=grandma opa=grandpa) i haven't found steiff here in Louisiana. i picked up a cat that looked like steiff but had no button in the ear or any tags.

Wolf, watch your step over there. German emigrants have become an endangered species statesside, I've been told. Stacey, your trrranslatorrr thingus rrrocks! Ok, I just told Wolf whthat I'm from the Rhein-Main area (a circle of about 60 kilometers or 40 miles around Frankfurt). He collects stuffed animals by the german manufacturer Steiff (those with a button in the ear...) - I have some of them, too. IF you look for something nice to bring home for some kids, check them out. New ones in any toy store, old ones on toy cons/markets (much sought after!). Always a good thing to find on a fleamarket, if inexpensive (but mostly, they're overpriced). These are quality-products that may (if properly treated) serve several generations...

Hey, what's that! Is this a Stuffed Animals collecting topic, or what!! Wer, what 78s do your parents have? Stacey, have I told you that there are people who think very well of Victrola as a brand? Even repair some... Still, for playing, I prefer a nice record player that does 78 rpm with a proper needle (because wider groove that 33 and 45 rpm records!). That's much easier that steel needles and changing them after playing 2 records (shellac is so hard, that the needles get blunt - if that's the proper word).

not sure...I'll ask next time I talk to them...

oh, and alex, i'm the alpha female around here *grin* (and steiff do age well even with lots of lovings)

So, what does that mean for me, besides the obvious. *charming blush* Do I now have to ask you first before replying to Stacey? Anyway, I think you're safe, Wolf. They only bump off the male of the species, as far as I can tell from here. Still, as in german it's "Der Wolf" for the male, and "Die W�lfin" for the female, you maybe ought to change that to She-Wolf - maybe they've hired a guest worker, who knows german, too. You never know. My, now I get really concerned, too. Be careful. And stay out of Florida and Arizona, for good measure. I would like to ask Stacey, what's wrong with the Victrola. May I?

speed control Herr Schuth... speed control... it's all wound up tight and then BANG, unwinds to quickly ( STOP laughing WER!!! I'm talking bout the Victrola! ) *smile*

no one has to ask me permission to speak, you had just referred to me as a "he" at no fault of your own, so i thought i'd correct the social blunder *heehee*

awww... WOlfie... there you go again... taking all the fun and social blunders outta everything. *pout*

*sorry*

(i was just kidding)

so was i *heehee* how are you doing stacey?

purty good... got some groovy medicine making my owwie parts stop hurting... actually, the collecting conference is appropriate for how I've been collecting illness lately!

i think the crud is hitting all over. a lot of folks around here have come down with it. glad the meds are working for ya and hope you feel better soon!

danke schon (dunno how to make a umlaut in telnet...) how are you doing??

stressed =o (work has been a bummer lately)

how come??

reorg'ing and i get a bulk of crud to take care of. part of the job. just stressful.

what do you do to relieve stress (outta curiousity) I'd lose it without exercise... and screaming... how do you make it okay so that you don't take it all and dump it on those around you? (and I'm sorry you're having a rough time)

i just deal with it and talk about it. i also use a lot of positive self-talkm (and chocolate-that helps), and prayer.

ummm... positive self-talkm... I'm gonna try that! *grin* *hug* hope it gets better!

Oh, and there are always them silly newbies who's ears you can pull and the like, Wolf. Then they look like this Steiff bunny I got... If you're stressed, try music NOW. (after all, this is a record collecting topic...) I'll play Ol' Man River from Show Boat right away (my original 78), and dedicate it to Wolf. And I'll chuckle to the lyrics, as I sometimes do (especially with this song). And for Stacey, I'd like to play a song from Disney's Jungle Book. It helped one of Superstar's authors when he was ill, and he wrote this down for us all to read in his column. "I want to be like you" (not meant literally) and fish stix are what saved him. Stacey, how good is your german? Should I post it (in the Superstar topic)? Get well. You got a long trip ahead of you, you want to enjoy it. Ever been over here?

I LOVE that song!!! My German isn't so good but my attitude ain't so bad... You could post it if you like but make sure it's more of a gibberish feature than cohesive German prose... Thanks, I will (I feel tons better now actually) Nope, never been. But the anticipation has been going on for years!

Your will be done! Please click here: http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/music/59 Get well, you don't want to have jetlag mixed with flu or something. Are you coming for fun or is it a business thing with tight schedule? AND you've picked some good places. I loved Berlin all my life (especially in the 70ies, when it was very much a decaying place - quite different now). Never been to Prague yet, but whoever goes, sings it's praise. Does your family come from there? Vura sounds so czech to me...

Brandon is going for business... I am taggin along! Pure vacation bliss (I hope!) The name is Americanized Hungarian... of which I am not strangely enough... my greatgrandfather (born in Italy of Italian descent, was adopted by a Hungarian couple and obviously given their name!!! I have seen slides of the 'original' homestead in Italy but I doubt we will make it so far south to calabria...

Ah, Italian Hungarian Style! That explains the fire!

fire, eh?

Well, sure. Lemme just get me ole bucket, and I'll fix that!

that better be one damn big bucket...

Oh, Kitchen, you'd love it - it's a aprox. 15 l bucket of zinc-galvanized steel, complete with wooden handle on the handle-thing. It's doesn't melt, even if you get real close! Profeesional quality, that's what I call it! But I just checked concerning the get-close-thing (Sunday morning) - Stacey, I won't make it. Shame on me, I'm really sorry about that. So, this spares you (and any given innocent bystanders) for this time. :=[

and once again, the world is safe...

Oh, Wer, if you want to rub it in, please do so in http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/screwed/157/All . I might not comment on this issue further in this topic.- Anyway, I keep the bucket around, you never know...

that's true...around here, one never knows...

Wer, what is the most-loved recording you own (any medium)? What do you think Wolf loves the most?

gotta contemplate on the first one, and as to the second, Wolf?

dunno....

Please, Wolf, there must be some canned compositions that for some wicked reason you love, and that never fail to make you happy or smug or sad or laugh or cry or dance with joy or a complete fool or a wise Wolf or gives you strength when you're weak, and spend light to you when all is dark?

well, one of my favorite songs is don henley's boys of summer. does it for me everytime. don't have it on record though.

Wolf, what do you think Wer will name as his favorite? "Bella Napoli"?

no...it's hard to think of a song I like better than "On Suday" by Shoulders, although "Offerings" by them ranks right up there...

Shoulders? Not in my Discography, tell me more...

an Austin band...not quite sure what else to say...

Close call never woulda happened anyway Alexander... our flight from Chicago was cancelled and we flew in the next day on American Airlines! Only 18 hours late!

I promise I'll stay on topic now... *grin*

Glad to have you onboard again, Ma'm. Bought any records lately, perhapy ever-delicious vinyl or tasty shellac?

not in the last ten (or 15!) years... I was a big cassette and 8-track girl!

OOOooooooooh! Tell us all about it! I've seen only two 8tracks machines in my life... Do you still have them? What recordings did you love the most?

i killed a couple Eagles 8-tacks (overplaying of course) and I still have all my Queen ones... Olivia Newton John... Alabama... (man this is embarassing!)

Any RARE stuff, something not a household name?

nope

I know it doesn't really go here, but... http://www.vintagesynth.com/

Thank you for this link! Please post it also in Music (MIDI topic perhaps? Or new one: Vintage Equipment) and maybe in Dead Media. This site is great - full of information on legendary synthesizers, discussion forum (Interface), technical tips, etc. Unfortunately, the Classifieds section doesn't seem to work yet.

Excuse me. The Classifieds work, just opens a new browser window, and I didn't see it. Looks great - if you ever need something, like e.g. a drum machine, this is the place to look!

Hey, y'all! THIS IS GREAT! Got a parcel today, from a musician + buddy who writes for superstar. He's just been to the States (where - besides his own professional interests - he did an interview for us...), and when he came back, he sent me this parcel! You won't believe this! A BIG stack of 78s, actually perhaps like 6 pounds. A note: "Something I picked up in the States for you"...

how kind of him!! i bet you're on cloud nine (ok, maybe cloud 78!!)

Yeah, and spi nn iii nnn ''' ! !! ! !

Serious Drama: What if you split up and have to divide the records and CDs between your ex-partner-to-be and yourself? How to handle that? Ever seen this happen? Or had to live through this yourself?

not yet...

is that foreboding or just keeping your options open?!

good question! I dunno...

Well, seems nobody here ever divorced... (or maybe didn't have a record collection?)! How exceptional - but some of you must have split up with somebody in the past, and had to suffer worse because of that special CD or the beloved LP? Come on, tell us your grief! (Meanwhile, the hardcore collectors will like this link: http://www.shellac.org/ and especially "Toasting a CD" at http://www.shellac.org/slumber/stech01.html , just what I want to start when I got the gear together...)

I hate it when that happens! Why do people have to take one's favourite cd's when they don't like you anymore??

...okeh, I listen - what happened? And what CDs?

Alexander, are you fond enough of Classical Music to be interested in my fairly large and old collection of LP's No cost. Just need to figure out how to get them from Hawaii to Germany.

I like classical music . . . but don't have an LP player. Do alot of people still keep them? ha-ha, No! Nothing serious there, Alexander! Just a guy I was supposed to marry (convention thing more or less); he seemed decent enough to begin with, but then he turned out to be REALLY needy, and I decided to flee the country instead. But the break-off had to be faced, and the best way he could think of in paying me back for the hurt ego was by refusing to return some cd's I once lent him. Can't even remember which ones, but if he thought THAT was the best revenge, he was so damned right!!! I cri d myself to sleep over those cd's!

Well, see if you remember and tell us!

How many records, Marcia?

lots...while I was in California the house-ape moved or tried to move them and put them elsewhere. The entire cabinet fell apart. They occupied a space about 4 feet in length (1.2M)standing on edge. HAve some old 78's too from the lower Manhattan record district which got the money I did not spend of second hand books.

i've got some lps too and don't have a player. ree, they still sell phonographs and some stereo systems come with them.

I have a turntable but seldom use it. My girlfriend has one (a Nutone) that folds into her kitchen wall. How 70's!

Wow! I'd love to have THAT kitchen appliance! Riette, nice record players are e.g. Thorens (a swiss maker?) or Technics (what the DJs use... No 78 rpm...). Ofter, Hi-Fi- studios have used drives in good condition to offer... (that's where the nice Marantz amp I use is from... 60ies or early 70ies model). Marcia, I hope the 78s did not break... Shellac is much more brittle than vinyl, as the proprietor of a second hand records stand of the fleamarket had to discover, when I asked him how much he wanted for a 78 by Bill Haley; made in Germany, though. The guy said 50 marks, and I pointed out to him that inside that plastic sleeve were shards you could puzzle with, but no record... I gave him 5 marks (like USD 3), because I wanted to have at least the label. 78s are to me audible ethnology into the world of our parents and great parents, archeological searches into styles and artists long forgotten. And it can be very romantic, too... Much music from that time has never been rereleased on vinyl (LP and 7''), much less on CD (though there are occasionally projects dragging such treasures together and reissuing them...). Even many great LPs were never reissued on CD - and people who have no record players are completely cut off from even having a chance to hear that stuff. Their favorite children's stories, the family's christmas record, what one's parents loved (Dances! Parties! Romance!). Thanks, music industry, for creating new products and new markets every few decades! Thanks for already planning the next big thing after the next big thing after the CD, DVD! Thanks for forcing serious hardware costs down our wallets every ten years - yes, the pace picks up!-, and thanks for letting so much of our cultural heritage go to waste and be forgotten... But then, perhaps it's fortunate for people like me - some of the nicest records I find right now come from people who sell cheaply or give away ALL THEIR VINYL RECORDS, because they don't have a player... Or from people who sell stuff of some deceased grandparent... Some treasure I hunted up lately - all early Stereo recordings (1958-1960): 2 LPs by Martin Denny (exotica, jungle sounds - weird stereo stuff tiki style), Julie London, Senor Tito Rodriguez (Cuban Big Band!), "Big Hits by Prado" - Mambo and other Latin goods (released in RCA Victor's "Living Stereo"-Series, which is much sought after by audiophiles...), "Li'l Abner" - the movie songs,...

Marcia, just saw post 75. Hold on to that. I'm not much into classical music, but perhaps somebody else is... How 'bout your son, whenever he gets settled?

BTW, it's a shame people don't part as easy from their Super-8 (or Normal 8) movies as from their records... I keep being amazed at seeing how many folks sell projectors and cameras at fleamarkets, but the films they did? Or some bought movies or cartoons? Tough luck!

Alexander, I think most of the 8 and Super 8 and even the 16mm film which my Dad used to document our family are in the family archives awaiting processing onto video tape. It is family history, after all, and may be the only pictures they have of elderly relatives, now long gone. Don't think son is into music at all. He has short wave and multiple scanners as does his mother for aural input.

Yes, I see about this "converting to" side, but most people back down from it. I have over 40 reels Super 8, each about 20-30 minutes - that's ONLY the family movies! About 24 h materiel, and copying is something like (one price quoted to me last summer) DM 3 (approx USD 1.80) PER MINUTE! I'm happy to play any films for other people - after all, I have 16mm, Normal 8 and Super 8-facilities. But there are many movies people bought - SciFi, Monster or Western stuff, all from way before VCRs. And these wares hardly ever show up. BTW, my friends love watching the old family-stuff, which really astonished me. Pick some nice music to match (Hammond-organ records are great!), and open a window to the past... Cars, hair-dos, clothes, buildings, cities - all looked so different! Perhaps I should do a Monster-HomeMovie-Marathon - show all films nonstop, and have some DJs do fitting music, stuff from those years... Haven't I been in a nice cinema lately, where the owner asked me about some cooperation ideas?

Yes, Alexandeer...have Terry run them on SpringCam and watch the hits soar as word gets around. It just might be the only chance we get to see what Alexander auf Hessen really looks like! I'd watch!!! I know of only one family who did conversions. One of the group paid to have it done, the rest made copies and shared the overall cost. We have hundreds of 16 mm spliced onto big reels. We even have the Hindenburg burning and the Coronation of George VI and Streamboat Willie, plus inumerable Betty Boop nd Popeye reels.

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! But Dad didn't film that himself, did he? Let's move this discussion into the Film topic here in Collecting, ok?

Sure!

...to be continued in film....

Bought some strange mix - Junior Guitar Watson, Barry White (early 70ies, when he WAS brilliant - as I only now find out!), Dean Martin, Elvis P.-Christmas album, singles by Malcom McLaren (Bufalo Gals), Amanda Lear (some Munich-disco stuff... 'twas the cover I need for an article...).

...more Barry White (actually, one was a "Love Unlimited"-lp). Some nice funk singles from the Atlantic label. Some obscure spanish singles...

i love Bary White... baby.. baby... baby... seems amusing to me that it took a prime time tv show to make him popular again... (how's the mag coming?)

(hard work, but ok, thank you! we worked on the cover today... sellin' ads - gotta sell more -, edit stuff, keep people happy...) And all day I hum "I'm under the influence of love and I know that I can't live without it..." Gotta hafta do with this wedding I attended two weeks ago... (Guess that goes to show this here COUNTRY BOY - THE EDITOR FROM HELL has a mortal soul after all...)

*smile* We knew it all along!

OH!

(Just a mortal one, don't be scared, it's nothing indecent. It'll even pass away once I embraced decay decisively!)

Please do not plan to do that for a very long time. We need you...or, at least, I do! *hugs*

Nothing indecent? Darn it!

Ree, we can always hope. Soon, this magazine will be put to bed and his creative mind will be able to think of other things. (Pulling out my blanket and snacks) Have some cheese and fruit while I cut the baguette...!

Imagining what those things may be might be a stretch though ...

It might even be scary...or the hoped-for indecent?!

Bet it'll involve fleamarkets, more records and Super-8-films... all of which will have to keep waiting for me a few weeks longer than planned. # 14 is postponed for two weeks.

We're prolonging the agony, are we? Sounds like birthing anything. False labot and all. Reward yourself when it is all put to bed properly...anything taking this much of Alexander deserves that.

That should read 'labor'... and I am sure there is nothing false about it!

Hi! Anybody have an idea were to get record collector prices on the web? Got some old records and wonder what it might be worth. I don't want to sell it, just want to know if I have to talk with my insurance company...(haha) I sometimes wonder if that old stuff could really be worth loads of money?

check ebay and see how much they're going for there. alex? you're the record man, what do you think?

But if I go to an auction place, I have to tell them my name, no? And I really don't want to sell my things, but I'm nosy if I got some treasures between my rubbish...

Perhaps some of your items are already listed there... Maybe even in like condition, so you could see what other folks ask for them. Besides Ebay, there is ricardo.de in Germany and www.andsold.de , I think. But there should be more specific record collector's resources, like record traders specialized in second hand and special recordings who offer their wares on the web.

we can do some searching for you, isabel, i'm already registered at ebay, so i can go there for you. let me know what you have and i'll get to work on it!

A german record collector's site: http://www.sammler.com lists dates for collectors conventions, shows the grading system and offers the chance to post questions (hey, some folks even offer 78s!). It's regularly updated - doesn't look too fancy, but well maintained. Their page http://www.sammler.com/sp/sp_links.htm shows links to online-record trading markets, a bootleg shop, etc. Enjoy!

Find records on offer at http://www.music-market.de/ , where you could also advertise (if you wanted to sell something). And if you'd want a printed catalog to browse, check http://www.motor-presse-stuttgart.de/mps/mgz/mgz.asp - there's one for Rock&Pop LPs and one for Rock&Pop singles. Something for classic and jazz, too (wonder if my jazz 78s are in there - e.g. my two Mezz Mezzrows...).

�sigh� Ehem, thank you! Those web-sites look interesting and maybe I would find what I'm searching if they weren't so difficult to survey... I bought the first Bob Dylan LP in mint condition and the dealer said that it's worth a lot and now I wanted to know if this might be true or not...

Check out http://www.jerryosborne.com/ - they have a price guide for American records for $26, perhaps available via Amazon, too. And! You can sell and buy collectibles there, And! they appraise your records for ONLY US$ 3,- per item! All chargeable via plastic money.

Looked up some book on vinyl collector prices lately, it said that's its not much worth - about 25 english pounds....Hoped it was more...

Old LPs?? Alexander, which ones are you looking for? Old Motown? Old rock? Classical? My other half used to do flea markets, and, Holy Moly, Batman! There's a million of them out in the garage!! He's debating on selling some on eBay, having a garage sell, doing another flea market, etc. I have found so many LPs that I had forgotten about, well, I started having flashbacks! LOL!

Next step: Play 'em! Go and check which you still can bear, and which are just to far behind. Right now, there's lots of soul in this household. Some Barry White, much Curtis Mayfield. Besides that, I listen to the monks a lot right now (see the monks-topic, and check out their website; they are the REAL thing!). I like many things in music, on LPs, 10'', 7'' and 78s.

I have definitely been listening to many of them. I haven't even broken the "iceberg", yet! I have given strict instructions on which ones are keepers, though...there's quite a huge pile of those tucked away in the corner!

Hmh, I wonder if we could use a topic on Hi-Fi gear, or maybe a whole AudioPhiles Conference, like e.g. the Radio one. That's different from the Music Conf - as this guy once said to me "Now you got the software, lemme get you fixed onto the hardware, too!" There's not a lot serious audio geeks want to talk about more than their high end amps 'n' stuff. Comments, please.

Just did...Aloha, Alexander!

I did some work for a guy once and he paid me in antique records - caruso and stuff. I really regret now that I gave them away when we sold everything up.

Caruso - he was the first highbrow artist to record. See, until that moment (and for quite some time after that) "serious" artists and ensembles would not record, or if, then only pseudonymous, because they were very much aware of the low quality in reproduction if compared to life performance. They thought they would tarnish their reputations if they allowed less than satifying reproduction of their work. Also, they were worried that their market value as performers would drop if their work were readily available on media. Caruso did away with that. If the result was only half as good as live, but if he reached much more listeners and made them happy - molto bene! And so he became the first international recording superstar, creating access for record labels to top-notch artists, and helping artists to become more widely known - even in places where they'd never perform live. When I started collecting 78s, I bought three boxes with about 30 records each, plus an approx. 20 records Linguaphon English language course ("The Englishman is very found of smoking tobacco." "The doctor is a great friend of humanity."). One record in the boxes was Caruso. Nice thang. And then there were wax cylinders, too (well, I don't have any yet) - did I ever post this link: http://www.tinfoil.com/ ? Y'all check it out, that's really neat - and you can listen to some wax cylinder recordings.

And there is also Tim Gracyk's place: http://www.garlic.com/~tgracyk/ This is more for early 78 (or shellacs) fans. Very good articles on media history, technology, restauration of gramophones, etc.

Thanks for Tim's link. My ersatz son-in-law collects old gramophones. I will forward it to him. Oh, and I have no idea what happened to my dad's collection of wax cylinders, but there were a lot of them and I recall the peculiar sound of them...far better than nothing, but nothing compared with what is available today. He later bought a Scully Lathe and recorded us all for posterity on shellac. Wonder where those are, as well...*sigh*

We always had loads of 78s when I was growing up. We had our own wind up gramaphone with a big horn. don't know what happened to it. My favourite was 'in a monastery garden'. It was a tiny little record. I have a box of records in the loft, I wonder if I kept that? I had a Gallicurchi record too (well, that's how its said, but the spelling doesn't look right). She was a fantastic soprano around the same time as Caruso I think. I always wanted a Kathleen Ferrier recording (later I know). Her 'blow the wind southerly' still gets me every time. I hate giving things away - but we're into that again now and it hurts.

Maggie where art thou?