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Children's...from
page 8
Many of the popular Disney stories, which were made into movies,
as well as the more popular TV shows of the day (e.g. Howdy
Doody, Tom Corbett Space Cadet) appeared in this series and
today are among the more valuable and popular of all kiddie
78s. A few companies became known as strictly "children's
record" producers. In addition to those mentioned in the
previous paragraphs, many readers will remember: Peter Pan,
Columbia Playtime, Record Guild of America, Voco, Young People's
Records/Children's Record Guild (a division of the Book of the
Month Club), Mercury Childcraft and Playcraft, Red Raven (picture
discs), Cricket. Then there are those small companies that produced
few kiddie records, let alone any others.  Unfamiliar
as the following are, they, nevertheless, contributed to the
plethora of product: Pied Piper, Rocking Horse, Pilotone, Melodee,
Toono, Belda, DeLuxe, Winant, Allegro, Magic Tone, Karousel,
Twinkle, Color Tunes, Musicraft, Merry-Go-Sound, Mayfair, Musette,
Caravan, This is a small sampling of some of the lesser-known
labels of the post WW2 era. In addition, an entire section of
my book will focus on educational, instructional, and religious
series of children's records. Most of these are not avidly collected,
but are, nevertheless, part of the legacy of kiddie 78s.
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Besides standard records, a large number
of picture-discs came out, including several that could be
cut out of the back of cereal boxes. With a picture disc the
whole record is a graphic image or photograph. The grooves
are either cut right into the picture, or on a clear laminate
of plastic that is affixed to the picture disc. One places
the needle right on the record's picture. As a rule, picture
discs are more valuable than standard records.
Tips For Starting A Kiddie Record Collection
For those of you who have been immersed in more established
collecting fields, starting a collection of vintage children's
records will be relatively inexpensive. I would estimate that
most "generic" kiddie records in at least VG to
EX condition could be had for $3 to $10, and very often for
much less. I am talking about perhaps 80-90% of all those
available. Unlike more popular collectibles, unfortunately
there are no comprehensive price guides or checklists on children's
78rpms. There are available two books with limited coverage
as follows: The Golden Age Of Walt Disney Records-R. Michael
Murray, Antique Trader Books; and Picture Discs Of The World-Joe
Lindsay,  BIOdisc,
Scottsdale, AZ. As mentioned at the beginning of this article,
part of the purpose of my collecting
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kiddie records is to create such
a complete guide. Any help that those of you reading this article
can offer to me will be greatly appreciated.
So, if you are ready to begin your collection
of vintage children's records, here are a few pointers to help
you get started:
Because most people collect kiddie records for the graphics
on the cover, records without original sleeves or album covers
have little or no collector value. Generally, you can find loose
(sleeveless) records for 25¢ -$1.00 at flea markets, garage 
sales, Goodwill, etc. . Of course, if you remembered a particular
one from growing up, you would want to hear the record, sometimes
"at any cost". In this case, the existence of the
original cover may not be as important to you. The exception
to this rule is, of course, picture discs. The record itself
contains the graphics. "Pic-discs" start out at $4-5
and range up to 
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$20-25 for the majority. Many, however, are
considerably more valuable. In the absence of any official price-guide,
any record is ultimately worth whatever one is willing to pay
for it. Now that I think about it, the latter holds true even
with a price "guide" handy. Supply and demand, along
with the subject matter is the driving force. Many records issued
in the TV era are worth more than their generic counterparts
because of the "cross-over" collectibility. You may
see a record of Howdy Doody or Hopalong Cassidy priced very
high. The dealer knows that these records can command his asking
price because his customers want anything with these characters
on it. Mitigating that situation, however, is the phenomenon
of eBay and other Internet auctions. Many previously scarce
records have been coming out of the woodwork, so to speak.  If
you are used to collecting items only in mint condition, don't
get hung up on this criteria. Kiddie records haven't survived
the decades as well as many other collectible items because
of the wear and tear they received from their young owners.
If you see a record you like in less than perfect condition,
even if it is only "fair" or
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"good", you may want to pick it up, especially if
the price is low (which it should be). Most of these records,
especially those with crossover  collectibility,
or limited production, you may not see again for a very, very
long time. Even though you may be buying the item for the
graphic beauty of the cover, the condition of the record is
relatively important-in other words, it shouldn't be severely
warped, cracked, or otherwise damaged. Otherwise, it has no
value. Just remember you are not buying CD's here. Ultimately,
the record is worth whatever it's worth to you. Just enjoy!
"if the records don't come to you, you must go to the
records". Try: Internet searches,  eBay,
ads in antique and/or record collector magazines; flea markets,
garage sales, antique shows, record shows-in other words,
"all the usual suspects".
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Author's Profile
Peter Muldavin has that unique quality
which makes a collector of children's ephemera successful: he
is "fifty-something going on five". Peter has been
a longtime collector of everything from baseball cards, stamps
and coins, and old children's books to his current focus on
old kiddie records. As with most of his collections, this one
got started as a nostalgic pursuit of some of his most precious
childhood memories. But, when he looked for price guides and
checklists to know what was "out there", he found
none. And after his collection was well under way, he even went
to the Library of Congress to research the subject. He discovered
to his surprise that he had more information than they did.
At this point, Peter's "hobby" became his "mission"-i.e.,
to list all kiddie 78rpm records made in the USA. His current
inventory of approximately 7,000 discs (not counting duplicates)
may be the largest of its kind in the country. To his knowledge,
he has become the USA's leading (and possibly only) expert in
this field. Peter Muldavin is always looking to buy, sell, and
trade kiddie 78s. He can be contacted at: 173 W. 78th St. New
York, NY 10024; (212) 362-9606;
E-mail: kiddie78s@aol.com
or visit www.kiddierekordking.com
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