dont think i'll be bidding on that lol

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Senk, Mark J. (CDC/NIOSH/NPPTL)" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:05 AM
Subject: OT - record seller is legally blind


> 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.
>
>
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