Latest Finds (13)
Channel: C Porter
Date: 2022-11-01

Tom Schuren, a local phonograph & radio collector of little-to-no significance due to him keeping to himself, passed away earlier this year. An estate sale was held by two other semi-local collectors to the area in mid October. His house was filled to the brim with an estimated 40,000 78s, phonographs, record players, and radio sets of all shapes and sizes, nearly all of which predating the 60s.

The two men selling it knew what they had, but they were also seasoned collectors, who understood the reality of the market and demand. Anything that they realized would realistically go for a high price of in the hundreds would usually just be not for sale. Such as the case with most all of the Paramount records spread across his collection, about 30 in total. Most all records were $3 a piece. Transcription discs, V-Discs, 12 in, 14 in, 13 in, and other things I've never seen in person before I saw there as well. A couple clocks were also sold including transistor wall mounts. 

Talking with the lister of the estate sale--which was by appointment as to avoid many coming in at once, thinking it's vinyl and all that broken stuff. "He just kept to himself really." C John, one of the sellers who knew him said. Tom had been a HAM radio operator in the 1970s - 80s, and during those days would put out messages to the world talking about how He wanted more 78s, so people would send him theirs. And anything that arrived broken, he would break down and turn into mulch. Assumedly for his garden out back. Compounded doubtlessly by the ones he found himself. "People would give him stuff they didn't want, because they knew he liked to tinker" John continued. "He was very malnourished, he only ate two TV meals a day and a coke..." while spending the rest of his time repairing, cataloguing and otherwise. "We had to get rid of his bed, his mattress was [from] 1928. Probably his father's." I could tell that for some areas, he definitely was devoted to cataloging them, while other areas were just pure stacks of shellac or unorganized shelves. But even those less organized areas were still creative in their own way. "He was clearly very intelligent. He [at one point] was a electrician, he had taught himself..." Going further to talk about how his complex electrical wiring strung all across the house that they took down as well. It was great to talk to other collectors in person again, and be able to talk shop phonographically and have people understand the difference between a Sonora and a a Columbia's sound quality & build quality for example. 

I was able to get a fairly good quality 1919 VV-VI for $80, which for reasons you will see in the video, I'll need to get serviced, soon I will get one of the other collectors there to service it, since they have a business for it. I hadn't heard of it prior because their located a few towns over.

(Note: Almost all quotes are paraphrasing.)

#78rpm #phonograph #victor