Hundreds of player piano rolls. Probably a thousand 78s. Three pianos (one a player). Dozens of radios and radio consoles. Smutty paperbacks.
I looked through the piano rolls hoping to find something with some sentimental value. I found a roll of Louis Moreau Gottschalk's The Last Hope. Here it is played from a piano roll, but not the one I have (mine was made by the amusing if quite accurately named Automusic Perforating Co. of NY, NY):
Piano rolls were $2, and off 50% on Saturday, so $1. Tomorrow it'll be 75% off.
78s were a buck each, so fitty cent, so a quarter tomorrow.
There was a jillion of them, so I picked up a couple that caught me eye. Liked the Vocalion label, liked the red color ("Vocalion Red Records are best"), and liked the Spanish theme. I hypothesized that the label specialized in Spanish language music, but that's apparently nowhere close to the truth, though it was true of the only 3 or 4 red discs in this huge collection.
Of course, I don't have a record player, much less one with a 78 setting. But this is the age of the internet. You can hear at least a preview of the Bar Harbor Society Orchestra's version of "Mexicali Rose" on amazon. Though I haven't found the A side -- "The Song of Songs".
You can download both sides of the other disc (and a few more Spanish songs) from a great blog of old music. The disc I have is the one pictured in the post: "La Golondrina" backed by "La Paloma", by The Castillians.
The Loot:
