Off topic, but the recent discussion of novelty records makes me think
there is some interest in this article


He was also interviewed on NPR a day or two ago.



North Hills treasure trove of music goes up for sale on eBay Wednesday,
February 20, 2008 By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette
Paul Mawhinney examines a Rolling Stones album he said is worth $10,000
at Record Rama in Ross.It started with a 1951 Frankie Laine single
called "Jezebel." From there, Paul Mawhinney's obsession grew into the 3
million records that now fill the Record Rama archives.

When the clock strikes 6 p.m. tomorrow, it may be out of his hands and
on the way out of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Mawhinney has put what he calls "The World's Greatest Music
Collection" -- bigger than the one at the Library of Congress -- up for
auction on eBay. He is selling the collection, housed in his store below
a strip mall in Ross, as one unit with a starting bid of $3 million.

Mr. Mawhinney estimates the value at $50 million and said that CD Now
nearly bought it for $28.5 million earlier in the decade, just before
stock in the online Web site plummeted. He added that over the years,
the Library of Congress and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum have
both expressed interest in the collection.

But, between the digital revolution and the shrinking population of
oldies collectors, the retail record industry is dying fast and a lot of
the old-timers just want out.

Mr. Mawhinney, 68, said he's more determined than ever now to sell.

"I want to retire. I'm legally blind and I had a couple strokes four
years ago. My vision is really getting to be a problem. And the record
industry also has changed. Kids are used to downloading stuff. The
world's changed."

The name Record Rama doesn't even do justice to the seemingly endless
aisles of Mr. Mawhinney's vault, each longer than a bowling alley. It's
more like Record Nirvana. It has just about anything you'd want -- in
bulk.

You can stop and count 29 copies of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy"
and more than a dozen of the Velvet Underground debut with the banana
cover designed by Andy Warhol.

The rarest piece is a Rolling Stones record of early mono singles,
remastered in stereo for FM radio stations. Mr. Mawhinney said only 300
copies were made, and it's worth up to $10,000. The original pressing of
Elvis Presley's first Christmas album, which comes with photo booklet
gatefold, is worth $700. He has 17 copies.

Just the other day, Mr. Mawhinney said, he came across a '60s soul
single, which are all the rage right now, in his collection that is
listed for $500 in Canada.

One of the things that separates Mr. Mawhinney, who opened his store in
1968, from most collectors/retailers is his meticulous archiving. In
1983, he published a two-volume Music Master discography that became a
reference book for the industry and drew the praise of Dick Clark. Now,
he has nearly 1 million records archived on an electronic database.

"I want to keep the collection together," he said. "It's my life's
work."

Mr. Mawhinney's rare combination as collector, retailer and archivist is
mind-blowing to colleagues such as Jerry Webber of Jerry's Records in
Squirrel Hill and Val Shively of Val's Records in Philadelphia.

"I have a computer that sits on my shoulders," said Mr. Shively. "It's
called my head. I don't even know how to get onto a computer."

Mr. Webber and Mr. Shively both talk of having warehouses full of boxes
and not even knowing what's in them. That's partly why it's hard to back
up Mr. Mawhinney's claim of having the world's largest collection. The
other collectors aren't entirely sure what they have.

Mr. Webber, a vinyl-only dealer who built some of his collection from
Record Rama, estimated he has around 1.7 million records. Mr. Shively
claims to have more than 4 million records, with the world's largest
collection of 45s. Craig Moerer of Records by Mail in Portland, Ore.,
claims more than 2 million records.

Mr. Webber recently tried to unload his whole collection for $400,000
but couldn't get it. Part of what makes Mr. Mawhinney's vault so
valuable is that he never sold the last copy of a record, so it is
filled with rarities.

Mr. Webber and Mr. Shively both doubt that anyone in this country is
going to come forward with the asking price. "I think he'll get between
$3 million and $5 million," Mr. Webber said. "It'll be someone overseas,
who will have it shipped there. They're really into these records in
London, Germany, Japan. They'll buy it and make millions on it."

"I know there are bidders," Mr. Mawhinney said. "A guy in Germany went
to the bank [Monday] to get money. There's a guy in London, too."

Mr. Mawhinney regretted seeing the collection leave the city and said he
tried to get local politicians and foundations interested in raising the
money to keep it here, but got very little response.

David Grinnell, chief archivist at the Senator John Heinz History
Center, said the collection is too broad for their interests. "We're
more concerned with local materials than national. Tony Bennett's first
album doesn't fit with our collection policy."

Even though Mr. Mawhinney's collection lived here for the past 40 years,
people never had full access to it at Record Rama. The vault was kept in
the back of the 16,000-square-foot space, closed to browsers. Between
that and Record Rama's higher prices, Mr. Webber said, a lot of
collectors didn't shop there.

Mr. Mawhinney said that when the right bid comes through, he'll let go
of every last piece -- even his private collection, which long ago was
absorbed into the archive.

"I had a wonderful life doing what I've done. I've lived a full life. I
have three children and five grandchildren."

If all goes well tomorrow, they can expect new houses and healthy
college funds. And, for that, they can thank Grandpa, Frankie Laine and
Jezebel.

Scott Mervis can be reached at [log in to unmask] or 412-263-2576.