Re: [ARSCLIST] Mailing lists for Phonograph Cylinders

[Michael Biel <mbiel@xxxxxxxxx>]

D P Ingram wrote:
> Dear Members:
>
> Are there any recommendable mailing lists (and if not, is there 
> interest in one) for phonograph cylinders, collections, restorations, 
> discographical queries and the like that can be recommended?

There are some cylinder collectors included in the members of the 78-L, 
but that list has been down all week for repairs.  Stay tuned here for 
notice when Ron Fial is able to get the list up again because you can't 
join till it is ready.  Despite the title 78-L it is not only about 78 
discs but about all types of recordings from the 78 ERA, and that 
includes cylinders, broadcast transcriptions, film sound, early LPs, 
reissues of these recordings, even wire and early tape recordings.  ARSC 
itself has a cylinder committee, and it is headed by Bill Klinger who 
might be a member of this ARSCList.  Allan Koenigsberg and Ron 
Dethlefson are the major Edison experts and are on the 78-L.  The other 
major Edison expert, as well as THE expert of the early phonograph 
industry, Ray Wile, is not on these lists but is easily contacted by 
phone or snail mail.  Jerry Fabris of the Edison National Historic Site 
is occasionally on the 78-L and might even be here.  There are a couple 
of other people on the 78-L who have worked with Jerry in the past but 
are not too happy with him at the present time.  And of course there is 
the major web project of Univ of California at Santa Barbara, and David 
Seubert who heads the project might be on this list. 
> Also, on a tangent, are there any discographers here with interest in 
> sound effect collections, particularly those from the British 
> Broadcasting Corporation?
> Best wishes, Darren    ¦ D P Ingram ¦ Ab Ingram Oy ¦ ¦ darren at 
> ingram.fi ¦  www.ingram.fi ¦

The major collector and discographer of broadcast music library services 
is Graham Newton of Canada.  As an adjunct of this he also has a passing 
interest in sound effects libraries since many of them were affiliated 
with the music libraries.  I have a couple hundred sound effects 78s, 
the full set of the Films for Humanities version of the BBC Sound 
Effects LP library, most of the CBS LP effects library, several dozens 
of the commercial sound effects LPs on Elektra, Audio Fidelity, BBC,  
etc, and a number of catalogs I've picked up from my years in 
broadcasting.  These are areas that have not had extensive 
discographical attention.  Old Time Radio collectors have shown a 
remarkable disinterest in discographical details of any type, and don't 
seem to have any interest in sound effects recordings, only the programs 
they were used in. 

When Morty Savada died I retold the story of how I saved a hundred or so 
sound effects 78s from destruction in the hands of a rather beautiful 
young "performance artist" who broke 78s on her butt to the rhythm of 
David Rose's "The Stripper" in her act.  Morty sold her junk 78s for a 
quarter for that purpose and I just happened to be there to protect the 
box of sound effects records he was going to sell her.  We sacrificed a 
language lesson set instead.  I wish I found out where she was 
performing, because she was delectable. 

Mike Biel   mbiel@xxxxxxxxx