ABSTRACT
In terms of longevity and continuity, record collecting has a historic pedigree. Its origins probably lie in the hot jazz clubs of the 1920s and 1930s, in which jazz aficionados (often students) went to great pains to acquire, trade and compare obscure and rare 78 rpm shellac records. However, there has probably been in te rest since recording first began (see for example Kennedy, 1994; Millard, 1995). Record collecting has in one sense always been contemporary, in that it often involved those who rejected the regimentation of convention or who felt themselves in some way to be outsiders. Hence it has always had a romanticism and held a fascination (predominantly for males, it should be noted) that has kept it current. This legacy now takes the commercial form of massive record fairs, international dealerships and a thirst for obsessive detail. Record collecting also comprises one of the largest and longest established secondary markets of all collectables.
