[tshifrin]

I have become the holder of a large collection of old records and several wind-up players: the estate of ragtime musician and past KFUO dj Bob Ault. In my garage (instead of my car!) is an Edison cylinder player, several hundred cylinders, 4 mechanical Victrola players and several hundred 78s, some Pathe' discs, and a huge collection of long play Classical albums. Most are pre-vinyl, although there is a quantity of newer recordings. Most of the records are in very good condition, although the covers are not.
If you have any interest in these used classical recordings, or in owning a piece of the history of records, I'd be very happy to give you a tour of the collection. And maybe you could give me an idea of what to do with all this stuff! In the meantime, I'm sorting the piles, and would welcome any knowledgeable help...
(There is also a smaller number of Ragtime and Jazz records, mixed in of course.)

Tom Shifrin; tshifrin@brick.net
314 993 4628

[thunderbrick]

PM sent.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Wow, neat! 

[thunderbrick]

Tom, my son Rob sends his regards!  We both remember your lightweight racing BMW!  Was it an E30 or E34?

Bob

[tshifrin]

Well, I've spent some time sorting, and yeah, Bob, it is a pretty neat collection. There are 2 original Edison stand-up players, and an original Victrola stand-up; each one is worth more than my own turntable! There's also an Edison Amberola (sp?) cylinder player with a built-in horn, apparently a bit more rare than the smaller variety. There are several hundred cylinders, several boxes of 1/2" thick Edison discs, some Pathe' discs, and several thousand Victrola, Columbia, Brunswick and other label 10" and 12" 78s. There is also a large straight horn used for mechanical recording, but I don't know whether it's for cylinders or flat discs.
Anybody who wants a look, feel welcome to contact me. I'm loving the education in early "state of the art" music reproduction: I've learned the world didn't start with a universal RIAA curve!

Meister Phelan, my best to your son, and may his engine assemble itself smoothly. I drive E30s myself, although the Clubs assign me the AWD driving students, or the over-powered novices; I seem to have a way with them. I'll see you tomorrow, I hope.

Tom