The Quest for the World's Rarest Records

Amanda Petrusich’s research for Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78 rpm Records sent her to junkyards and basements across the country, as well as to scuba class—in the hopes that by learning to dive she could retrieve a lost trove of Paramount Records gems from the bottom of the Milwaukee River. Part history and part character study, the book explores the haunting power of country blues captured on 10-inch shellac discs at the start of the 20th century—and offers a thoughtful meditation on why some collectors spend their whole lives in pursuit of such elusive objects. It is also something of a conversion story: In the video above, Petrusich, a music critic and part-time Gallatin faculty member, discusses how she too came to love 78s.

Видео The Quest for the World's Rarest Records канала New York University