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Re: Harper's article: shellac albums



Amy, I can't vouch for this as I've not seen the Harper's article but many
record collectors use the term "shellac" as a kind of casual slang term
meaning any commercially produced 78rpm record. You are thinking that the
writer literally means shellac, as in lacquer coated ("acetate") discs which
are usually instantaneous recordings and are, as you suggest, very
vulnerable to many forms of damage and degradation. It sounds to me like the
writer has enjoyed being a record collector (or being around them), and
finds it gratifying that old discs still on the shelf or in the bin are not
disintegrating. While 78s are not indestructible--  they can certainly be
scratched and break easily-- there are many such records 50-100 years old
that remain in more or less pristine condition if they've been stored
reasonably well.

So that's my reading: "shellac" should be in quotes and it should be
understood as an affectionate term used by record collectors just the way
"vinyl" is often used to refer to all LPs.

Hope this helps. Anyone else have an opinion?

Steve Green
Western Folklife Center
sgreen@westernfolklife.org


*******

----- Original Message -----
From: Amy Filiatreau <AFiliatreau@MAIL.LAW.UTEXAS.EDU>
To: <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, April 10, 2002 12:00 PM
Subject: Harper's article: shellac albums


> Hi all,
> In Harper's April 2002 issue there's a little article about "the birth of
> the blues, stamped in black shellac" called "Perfect Sound Forever" (pp.
> 58-59). Most of the article is rather nice, but I had a jolt when, near
the
> end, the writer says:
>
> "'Perfect sound forever' was the slogan, twenty years ago, for the compact
> disc, which at the time was declared 'undegradable.' But one scratch can
> render a CD unplayable, and oxidation, we now know, may claim our CDs
> within our lifetime. Today such promises of permanence are heaped upon the
> CD's designated heir, the audio DVD, much as they were on the LP and the
> 8-track before it..."
>
> (Ok, this I don't really have a problem with. I'm glad someone is pointing
> out the inevitability of CD and DVD failure - "within our lifetime" is
even
> longer than I'm prepared to give them, assuming I don't get hit by a bus
> anytime soon. But then he writes:)
>
> "But if any recording medium is indeed to achieve immortality, it might be
> good old shellac, which still plays fine today...."
>
> Well, wait a minute. I had thought shellac was pretty darn scary stuff.
> Shellac is an organic compound, and as such is inherently inconsistent as
a
> binder. High humidity levels cause it to become embrittled, and cause a
> powder to form on the surface which eventually removes the surface groove
> information, and it can be susceptible to mold.
>
> The writer's promises of immortality for shellac albums seem just as
> idealistic as those he refutes for CDs and DVDs. I would appreciate
hearing
> from people who work with old recordings - is the writer completely wrong,
> or are shellac albums closer to indestructible than I thought?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Amy Filiatreau
> Archivist
> Rare Books & Special Collections
> Tarlton Law Library
> University of Texas School of Law
>
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A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>