Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World's Rarest 78rpm Records

A journalist's deep exploration of the world of rare 78rpm record collectors and their relentless pursuit of early American recorded music. Author Amanda Petrusich embeds herself in this specialized community, accompanying collectors on their searches and learning about the history of these fragile artifacts. The book traces the development of early recorded sound and the birth of the American music industry through specific recordings and the collectors who hunt them. Petrusich profiles key figures in the 78rpm collecting scene while chronicling her own growing fascination with these records and what they represent. The narrative moves between historical context about blues, jazz, and folk recordings from the 1920s and 30s, and present-day accounts of collectors' quests to find and preserve them. Personal interviews and hands-on experiences, including the author's own attempts at scuba diving for discarded records, bring the contemporary collecting world to life. This examination of musical preservation and collecting culture raises questions about obsession, the tangible value of art, and why certain people feel compelled to save pieces of the past. The book considers what drives humans to collect and what these impulses reveal about memory, legacy, and loss.

Readers describe this as an engaging look into the niche world of 78rpm record collectors, with Petrusich immersing herself in their culture and obsessions. Liked: - Personal narratives and profiles of eccentric collectors - Clear explanations of recording technology and history - Author's hands-on research, including learning to scuba dive to search for records - Accessible writing style for non-collectors Disliked: - Too much focus on the author's personal journey - Limited coverage of female collectors and artists - Some technical details about recording processes drag - Price information quickly becomes outdated Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (1,100+ ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (130+ ratings) One reader noted: "She captures the thrill of the hunt without romanticizing hoarding behavior." Another complained: "Expected more about the actual records and artists, less about the author's experiences." The book resonates most with music history buffs and those interested in collecting subcultures.

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🎵 The book's title comes from a notation commonly found in record price guides next to the rarest records, indicating they are essentially priceless. 📀 Many 78rpm record collectors featured in the book specialize in pre-war blues recordings, some of which exist in only one known copy. ✍️ Author Amanda Petrusich learned to scuba dive specifically to search for rare records in the Milwaukee River, where Paramount Records allegedly dumped their overstock in the 1930s. 💿 The 78rpm records discussed in the book were made from shellac, a resin secreted by lac bugs, making them extremely brittle and prone to shattering. 🎸 One of the most sought-after 78s mentioned in the book is Tommy Johnson's "Alcohol and Jake Blues," which has sold for over $37,000.