Guest Column: More Tales of The Hunt

Nick has been posting a bunch of long anecdotes on various comments under the moniker “Tales of the Hunt” so I suggested he send them to me first and I would post them as guest columns. I’ll see about pulling them together in one spot for those interested. In the meantime here’s this one, which I think of as “Guys and Dolls and Records.”

More Tales of The Hunt, by Nick from Brooklyn

One thing good about trading records with another collector who does not collect the same music as you do, both of you should feel like winners in the end. I spoke about Joe Rocco before who was a big Doo Wop collector and was part owner of Strider Records in Greenwich Village. Before he opened Strider Records, Joe worked for The House of Oldies also in the Village.  And I did a lot of trading when I found Doo Wops with him there and in his home.  One day Joe calls me – I think it was in the early 1980s – and asks, do I want to look at a collection with him in Queens. We drive out to Atlantic Avenue and I believe around Sutphin Boulevard very early in the morning.  We meet this guy who has just purchased a building off of HUD for $5,000. As we approach the building it is a two-story building and it looks as if it was there for over 100 years, and this guy is talking a mile a minute and I’m trying to keep up with him. As he starts rolling up the gate my eyes start to blink. Here is this storefront with a huge neon sign in green – RECORDS – to the right of the door. Above that is another sign with an arrow pointing up that says “Dolls Repaired.” In the left side window is another smaller neon side that says Records.

As we walk in all of the shelves, bins and floors are wooden and it sort of looks like an old General Store out of the 1900’s. To the left are shelves full of 78 RPM records stretching the full depth of the store, which is made be around 100 feet. On the right side are LP’s and more 78’s. I estimated there were 8,000 to 10,000 78s. Joe starts going through the 78’s and pulling out what he needs for his customers: Rock N Roll, R & B and Doo Wops. In the end Joe said he got around 1,000 or so. There was a back room and Joe went nuts with the 45’s of which there were not that many, but he took most of them, which was around 2,000 or so. When I went outside to have a cigarette there was a City of New York notice on the side of the window. The store had closed in March 1957. Joe came out and asked me were there many jazz albums, I told him I really had not started to pull yet. I think the back room had gotten him excited and he wanted to get all the goodies out of there right away. In the end I pulled out 400 or so jazz albums and Joe had around 50 LPs.

The funny thing about this store: If they closed in 1957 you would figure there would be 10-inch LPs but I only saw some pop 10-inch and not that many.  I asked the owner if there was a basement he said no. He said upstairs there were dolls. I said could I look and as we walked up these winding stairs there were boxes of Lionel Trains , maybe three or four. I asked him were these for sale, he said no. When I saw the dolls I knew they were worth big money. They were Porcelain Dolls. I asked him do you want to sell these he said of course. I use to carry all sorts of cards in my pocket and one in particular was an antique dealer in Brooklyn who on his card said old dolls wanted.  It was around 11 a.m. and I told Joe what I was doing. I went to the corner and was lucky I got the dealer on the phone right away, explained to him this is a now-or-never deal and that there was at least 200 to 300 dolls and many doll parts and to bring a lot of cash and get here as fast as he could. This dealer came around 12:30 with his truck. I told him you don’t fool around, he laughed, I took him to the second floor. I could see his mouth drop. I told him to give me his best offer. He was looking and counting. He took out a pad and told me the best I can do is $12,000. I told the guy I will be right back – I have to tell my partner your offer. I went down and told Joe we are going to buy all the records and dolls in the building, Joe said are you sick, I said Joe don’t worry your records are there, my records are there what’s to worry. I could see he is uptight, Joe it’s going to be cheap, trust me. He nodded and tells me okay.

Now I approach the owner who is sitting in the corner reading a newspaper. Now remember this building cost him $5,000. I tell him are you ready to sell everything but the trains, he tells me yes. I tell him how about $11,000 cash.  He says $11,000 and you are going to take everything? I tell him the guy upstairs will take the dolls and the rest of the stuff down here will be gone by next week by me and Joe. He puts his hand out, we shake, I go upstairs get the $12,000 and tell him I am giving the owner of the dolls $11,000 and the other $1,000 is for my friend Joe, because it was his lead. He didn’t care. I come back down, call Joe over, hand the owner the $11,000. He is so happy, he tells us, I really appreciate this, now I can fix up the building and more than likely it’s like I got it for nothing. I go upstairs, tell the doll guy they’re yours and I will call him soon, go back down, me and Joe pack up the car, we could hardly see out the windows in the back: The floor, back seat and the trunk are full and we head back to Brooklyn.  So on the way home – we used to live around 10 blocks from each other – I ask him did he want to have White Castle, he says yes. While driving Joe keeps asking me how much I have to pay from the $11,000, I keep telling him don’t worry it’s small. Getting to White Castle, I go into my pocket and pull out the $1,000 and hand it to him. He asks me what is this. I tell him count it: $1,000. I say it’s yours, it was your deal, I tell him the dealer with the dolls offered $12,000 he tells me I can’t believe we got all of those records for nothing plus the $1,000.

After we leave, instead of driving me home, first we go to his house. In the basement he has thousands of records, mostly 45’s. Opening a closet which is full of LPs he tells me take whatever Jazz you see. I pull out ten or so albums, he tells me that’s all and goes to hand me some money. I tell him take care of me when a collection comes into the store. When he is driving me home he tells me what about the 78s – we have to clean those out. I tell him I’ll get a dealer/collector I know to buy them cheap, he laughs and tells me good I really don’t want to go back there, but we should have taken the neon signs, see if you can get them.

When I get home I go through my cards and come up with this guy his name I think was Len, but he ran a record newspaper called Record Research that did record research on mostly jazz artists, record labels, etc and he was very knowledgeable when it came to 78’s. He had three-story building I believe on Park Avenue and Grand Street in Brooklyn that used to lean towards the Brooklyn Queens Expressway – that’s how many 78’s were in this building. I call him and we drive out to the store the following week. After looking awhile he tells me how much. I tell him I know there have to be winners in here and they are all mint, make me an offer, I than tell him there is around 8,000 to 10,000 78s. He tells me how about $1,500, I tell him ok, (in my brain I am always thinking about a future deal) but I need a favor: When you clean these out I need you to take the two neon signs to your building and my friend will pick them up and I know you have connections and in the future you will get me some jazz LPs for my collection. We shake hands. He stays to pack as many of the 78s as he can because his friend was coming with a truck. I take the subway to the Village, see Joe, hand him the $1,500.00. I tell him what happened, give him the address where to pick up the neon signs and the guy’s phone number, Joe gives me $750. Two weeks later I call the doll guy, he was so happy to hear from me and tells me to come to his store, which was on Atlantic Avenue, downtown Brooklyn. When I get there he could not stop thanking me and hands me an envelope which I did not open, Igo to the village and see Joe and give him the envelope and tell him this is from the guy with the dolls. He opens it and it is another $1,000 which me and Joe split. Every time I see Joe for years and years after this he used to put out his hand and say no money and then laugh.  If there is a vinyl heaven Joe is there looking down….and laughing!!!!