Old 78 rpm records. For the most part....worthless. But...

A good source that we gets tons of great stuff from brought in some old records the other day and I cringed. Nicely, it has given me an opportunity to learn a bit about an area of antiques that admittedly I knew very little about. All I knew was that "rarity" and "condition" were the key factors in value. Of course, these are true for every area of antiques and vintage so I was no genius. Bing Crosbys "White Christmas is worth zilch because they made a million of them. However, Dock Boggs singing and playing banjo on "Sugar Baby" Brunswick #118, recorded in New York City in 1927 is worth plenty. Get it?
Anyway, I started out by picking some labels out of the stacks that to me were odd sounding. The source for these and many other items has been incredible in the condition department. All of the ones they brought in are in mint condition in their original sleeves.  The first two I picked out were on the Pathe' Label recorded in France ca. 1920's.
Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.

The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, then owners of a successful bistro in Paris. In the mid-1890s they began selling Edison and Columbia phonographs and accompanying cylinder records. Shortly thereafter, the brothers designed and sold their own phonographs. These incorporated elements of other brands. Soon after, they also started marketing pre-recorded cylinder records. By 1896 the Pathé brothers had offices and recording studios not only in Paris, but also in London, Milan, and Moscow. By the late 20's they were selling 78's as we know them today. 10" in diameter mostly in black.  They recorded a lot of avant garde and modernist classical music. If you want to learn more about Pathe' Records go here

As I get the time I will post a little bit more about the batch of records I am going through right now.  In the mean time please visit Joe Lauros website. He is an expert and has a great page that can help you decide if you have anything of value. Here are the 78's he covets and buys, click here and here are the labels and styles of music he absolutely will NOT buy. This one will surprise you, Click here 

If you are an antique picker bookmark this page it will make your life much simpler.