The Collector

It started with a single record, picked up as a teenager in a dusty market stall somewhere in England. The weight of it. The mysterious label. The moment the needle touched the groove and a voice from another century filled the room — that was it. Over 35 years later, the fascination has never faded.

adrem78 grew out of that obsession: a deep, personal collection of shellac records spanning every corner of the 78 RPM era. Pre-War Blues with raw, unfiltered emotion. Jazz that still swings as hard as the day it was cut. Dance Bands, Music Hall, Rock n Roll, and everything in between — from the dawn of recorded sound through the early 1950s.

The name comes from the Latin "ad rem" — literally "to the thing", and by extension "to the point", "to the matter at hand". It is the opposite of distraction: no detours, no embellishment, straight to what matters.

For a collection built on first-hand recordings — the sound exactly as it was cut, with nothing added — it felt right. And the "78"? That is simply the speed these records turn: 78 revolutions per minute.

Every record has been hand-picked over decades. I look for pressings that still carry the life of the performance — strong grooves, honest labels, discs that have survived the years with dignity. Condition matters deeply, and I grade using the VJM standard, both played and visual, with the care that comes from handling thousands of records.

From rare and sought-after sides to hidden gems that deserve a wider audience, the collection spans artists, labels, and genres across the golden age of the gramophone. Some pieces come and go — finding new homes with fellow collectors around the world. Others stay. The ones you can't let go of.

These records are not just objects. They are first-hand witnesses to musical history — pressed in the studios where the music was made, carrying the sound exactly as it was captured. No remastering, no filters, no algorithms. Just a needle, a groove, and a direct connection to the past.

adrem78 exists to keep that connection alive. Whether you are a seasoned collector or someone who has just discovered the magic of 78s for the first time — welcome.