1927 Blind Blake One Time Blues PARAMOUNT TEST PRESSING

$

343

I'm sorry but I do not ship out of the U.S. However, overseas bidders can participate if they have a U.S. address to which I can ship. You need to email me before bidding. Thanks!

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  DRY BONE SHUFFLE (4462-2)   and   ONE TIME BLUES (4363-2)   by Blind Blake, accompanied by his own guitar (well, DRY BONE is primarily a guitar solo for dancing, accompanied by unknown rattlebones, with some spoken comment by Blake)     [Chicago, Illinois]: Paramount test pressing 12479 with handwritten labels, ca. May 1927.   Paramount test pressing which was a recent antique shop find in Birmingham, Alabama. Because of the city in which these test pressings were found, I wonder if there could be some connection between these and the long deceased Birmingham piano dealer HARRY CHARLES who did promo and scouting work for Paramount in the 1920s. I will be listing these test pressings (as well as released, "regular issue" Paramount, Gennett, Vocalion & other 1920s race & hillbilly records) during the next couple of weeks.   Dixon & Godrich BLUES & GOSPEL RECORDS 1902 -1942, 1963 edition. (2nd edition? blue boards, 765 pages), page 64.   Both sides rubbed but showing about 50% or slightly better gloss. There are a few scuffs and some light scratches on DRY BONES that I couldn't hear when I played that side. There is a needle drop dig near the very end of DRY BONES that had no affect on how the side played. There was a tiny pinpoint needle drop on ONE TIME BLUES that did not affect play. I don't think I even heard a click. There are 2 tiny rim flakes on the DRY BONE SIDE but there is plenty of space between them and the beginning of the groove (see photo).   On ONE TIME BLUES (a great country blues number, by the way) there seems to be some inherent distortion in the way the side was recorded. At the very first of each stanza when Blake "moans," the amount of surface hiss increases a good bit. I know there must be a term that has been coined for this since I actively sold records like this in the 1960s but I don't know what that term might be (although it seems to relate to the Paramount engineer recording Blake at too high of a level for the shouted "moan" that is heard frequently during the course of the song). You can even see the grooves (they're more "gray") on the record where this is a problem. I honestly think it's more a matter of how the record was pressed than it is the "condition" of the record. I don't see how a bad needle could hurt only parts of a song. (But, then, I'm no engineer!)   All of that being said, both sides play VERY STRONGLY and DRY BONES is really quite nice condition-wise while ONE TIME is quite nice, music-wise. I would say E- for DRY BONES and VG for ONE TIME.   The plain white labels show little wear - perhaps just a tiny bit of spindle rubbing.   I grade 78s visually and then aurally, playing them on a decent portable 3 speed mono record player with fairly light weight tone arm, single speaker and with a .3 millimeter 78rpm sapphire stylus. I generally keep the continuous tone control (controls bass to treble with a single knob) tuned about 3/4 of the way away from maximum treble.   I have been packing and shipping valuable 78s since 1962. More expensive 78s will always be double boxed and I try to ship via priority (upgrading to priority at my own expense if the bidding goes way above my minimum) even though ebay makes it impossible to break even on shipping charges when doing so.   That being said, let me go ahead and say that although I realize there is a huge market for blues 78s overseas, I DO NOT SHIP OUT OF THE U.S. under any circumstances (except American military post office boxes) because of severe and expensive (for me) overseas mailing problems from doing so in the past. I just will not do it even though that might mean getting lesser prices for the neat blues & jazz discs I'll be listing during the next week or two (including a decent # of Paramount Test Pressings - mostly in the mid-12000s).   However, if you live outside of the US and can pay via paypal AND have a friend, business associate or re-mail service in the U S to whom these discs could be sent, I will arrange with eBay for you to bid if you will write me ahead of time with the U S recipient's name and address.   ++++++++++++++   (the fine print ... [sigh] ... but please read :-)

WE REGRET WE DON'T SHIP OUT OF USA; SORRY, BUT NO EXCEPTIONS.

SHIPPING is $4.00 via carefully packed, bubblewrap protected media mail. (NOTE THAT MEDIA MAIL CAN BE VERY SLOW - much slower than eBay's thoughtlessly stated 2 to 9 days shipping time - so check the Birmingham postmark upon receipt and you will see that the package was mailed in a timely manner according to stated terms of sale). AT CUSTOMER'S REQUEST AND FOR AN EXTRA CHARGE, shipping may be upgraded to fast boxed priority mail. 

Postal insurance (highly recommended for 78rpm records) is available at my exact cost if wanted by the purchasor.

PAYPAL IS THE MUCH PREFERRED METHOD OF PAYMENT. However, I CAN accept other modes of paying upon local pickup (MON-FRI). Please email me in advance to arrange such payment requests/local pickup or if you have questions. Thanks!

Now that I'm finally offering paypal, please pay promptly:  Winner's payment should reach me within 7 days; eBay wants to be notified of slow- or non-payers soon thereafter so NON-PAYING BIDDER ALERTS ARE FILED ON THE 8th day following the auction IF I'VE HAD NO CONTACT FROM YOU SINCE AUCTION'S END. That gives you just 7 more days to pay without a NPB strike. Delayed? Then email me - I'll try to work with you when necessary but please don't expect me to do so in a vacuum. 

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LIMITED LOCAL PICKUP OFFERED: Local pickup (you'll need    C A $ H    in exact change please - there's usually no money on hand with which to make change) available ONLY at my office in the Lakeview area of southside B'ham during office hours Mon-Thursday + Friday mornings. I'm sorry but there is NO WAY to arrange late evening or night time pickups, saturday or sunday pickups, meetings anywhere else, and/or pickups at my home. I need at least one and usually two business days' notice beforehand. Address and other instructions/directions given after you've won an item and contacted me via email. Thanks!