The record changer (Jan-Dec 1949)

The devotee of historical records of great singers and actors often has had occasion to be grateful to William H. Seltsam of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Since 1932, when the International Record Collectors' Club was founded by Mr. Seltsam, he" has performed miracles in research and his issues have included examples of the work of artists of the Golden Age who were merely names in legend until he unearthed their super-rare recordings and made them available in repressings or re-recordings at prices which certainly have precluded any monetary gains to himself. Certain IRCC issues, long out of print and perhaps never again to be available, have changed hands at outlandishly high prices. Mr. Seltsam's most recent release of five records brings for the voices of Frances Saville (1902), Agustarello Affre (1902), Adolphe Marechal (1905), Reynaldo Hahn (1910), Eugenia Burzio, Mary Garden (1905) and Rosalia Chalia (1896!). Full details are contained in an interesting bulletin which may be had by writing to Mr. Seltsam at 318 Reservoir Avenue, Bridgeport 6, Conn. Can't you just imagine a couple of record collectors meeting a century hence : one, eyes a-pop, telling the other, "Cheez, ya know wot? I met a guy t'other day an' y'know wot he got? A fastplaying record!" Has the Heritage Series gone the way of all flesh? Nothing doing from that angle lately. I've said before and I say again that the series could be a highly successful proposition if issued on regular shellac at a dollar per disc. I've acquired a priceless Toscanini rehearsal recording in which the old boy excoriates a bassoonist, Doyle by name, kicks over a brace of music-stands and climaxes by dashing a stop-watch to 'the deck. The donor of this disc reports that the stop-watch was a present to the maestro from the men and came to $500 of their hard-earned money. Sech goin's on ! The acquisition of American rights to the Telcfunken catalog by Capitol Records will enrich many a collection over here. Many much-sought pre-war landmarks in recording history will be available in pressings of an excellence comparable to that of the superb Telefunken originals. Victor album DM-64, Stainer's Crucifixion, is deleted after twenty years of catalog life. Long among my very favorite sets of records, I have* laid in two extra sets against breakage. By present-day reproduction standards, you might say that DM-64 is ancient, but the performances may never again be equalled and should you come upon the item on your dealer's shelf, my advice to you is GRAB IT ! A spate of half-price sales around town has deflated my resources for some time to come. The complete Victor sets of Boheme and Tosca with Gigli at his superb best have joined my ranks, as has the Faust with Journet as Mefisto. The latter item is slated for deletion upon the near-future release of the work under Sir Thomas Beecham. Whereas the Victor 7-inch releases thus far have been dubbed from "regular" discs, many Columbia "regulars" are dubs from LP's. Victor's recent popular records are dubbed from tape-recordings. Not more than ten years ago Caruso records were shunned by rarity-seekers as being too common to arouse the acquisitive urge. Only music-lovers could be persuaded to listen to them. Today there is practically no such thing as a "common" Caruso item in its originally issued state and among the most difficult to acquire are those issued after the tenor's death, which coincided with the Victrola's first decline. Certain double-faced issues are almost never reported. Tern pus fugit! "Aha! So you admit you've never heard the band either! So how can you contradict my opinion?"