Vintage Record Auction 77
This auction closes on October 25, 2025
This magnificent sale features 78rpm records, phono cylinders, radio transcriptions, Edison Diamond Discs, picture records, test pressings and much more. You'll find sections devoted to jazz, blues, country, personality, sacred, operatic, classical, comedy, rock & roll, R&B, foreign & ethnic, children's and historical recordings.
Of special interest is a section of early electrical tests, and extensive array of seldom seen American ethnic labels, hundreds of 1930s radio transcriptions including episodes of Dick Tracy and The Shadow, concert cylinders that appear to have been part of a magic lantern show soundtrack, a recording of a man born in 1810, and what may very well be a unique copy of the earliest known American picture record.
In addition to our normal selection of Gem Quality 78s, we also have an exceptional run of Gem Quality Edison 2 minute wax cylinders.
Submitting Auction Bids
Customers are welcome to submit bids by post, fax, email or phone. But we greatly encourage you to use the Online Bidsheet. Why is that?
- It reduces mistakes for us, since we don't have to manually enter your bids.
- It reduces mistakes for you, since you see exactly what you're bidding on.
- Each of us receive a backup copy of your bids by email.
VRA 77 Highlights
Out of the thousands of items offered in each catalog, a few stand out in terms of rarity, value, historical significance and/or visual appeal.
This slideshow will give you an idea what's for dinner!
Pope Leo XIII Booklet (Lot 3445)
An original booklet accompanies the 1903 Bettini recording of Pope Leo XIII. The Pontiff made just two known recordings in his lifetime, both of which were recorded by Gianni Bettini at the Vatican on February 5, 1903. The "Vicar of Christ" passed away just a few months later at the age of 93.
A contemporary of Thomas Jefferson, Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci (Leo XIII) entered the world on March 2, 1810. I'm not aware of an extant playable recording made by anyone born prior to that date. (Phonautograph tracings and the like excluded.)
The record & booklet shall be sold together, and are listed in our current auction as Lot 3445.
Unsold Lots from Past Auctions
Most of the records in our catalogs are sold at auction, but there are always a few hundred that do not receive bids. These leftover records are made available for their Minimum Bid amounts on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Unsold List consists solely of lot numbers and prices. Please download the catalogs below to determine what the lot numbers represent.