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Reader's Digest

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

I have not yet found to courage to try and work my way through the Reader’s Digest flexi records in my advertisement record collection. I have postponing this for at least fifteen years now. I don’t know too much people who are collecting this stuff, and I only know one person who actually did an attempt to do something with these records. That person is Pieter Jan Vink; he made a compilation CD of some of the “best” Reader’s Digest flexi records:

Last night I got a plastic bag full of 45’s from Dirk Koorn, again. And in that bag were a pile of Reader’s Digest flexi’s, again. And again I just placed them on the shelf, with the rest of my Reader’s Digest collection.

I have no idea how many Reader’s Digest flexi’s I have (I haven’t even found the courage to sort out the double records) and neither do I have any idea how many flexi records were ever made by Reader’s Digest, but it sure is far more than any normal human being can handle.
These flexi records came in envelops with a lot of information on the LP-boxes that they advertised for. I collect these envelops and al the information too, of course. I don’t collect all of the LP-boxes. My parents had a few, and they were not as bad as you might be tened to think. And some of these boxes are even good, like the Ted Heath box for example. But in most cases I rather keep it with the advertisement flexi’s.
I have many ideas of what can be done with the Reader’s Digest flexi’s: montages, cut-up’s, mixes, mash-up’s, etcetera. But there are so much better things to that I doubt that I will ever get to it.
These records are absolutely the lowest-of-the-lowest. That is what makes them interesting, of course. But you have to be in a very very special mood for it.
Here is one of the Reader’s Digest records; the only one that I have ever seen on a want-list:


And please notice the subtle mixing that has been done for this record!

Comments:

bas

2008-10-14 02:10:12

I own about fifty of them, but there must be way more. One day I would like to make a list of all the Reader’s Digest flexi’s.
You might want to check this link too:
http://www.theoilburg.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=36

Pieter Jan Vink

2008-11-19 12:20:27

Indeed, I’m still one of few collectors that treasure flexies. I’m looking for the early Dutch Sonopresse one with label nrs up to SHOL 500. Futhermore my fast Reader’s Digest collection to mu surprise still is increasing in number. I once had my collection on display on a free Canadian website, that unfortunatily was discontinued. Well, with retirement coming in sight I still opt for writing a book on FLEXIES. PJ

frits

2008-11-19 13:42:43

Retirement? You are not that old, are you? But i would like to buy that book.

Jana

2009-01-08 14:23:27

I have 14 collectors edition Readers Digest vinyl album sets from the swing era, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, 1939-1945 collector sets and much more. They are all in mint condition with original boxes. I would like to sell them to someone who would appreciate them.

Pieter Jan Vink

2015-01-01 20:47:58

Time flies when you have Flexie collecting fun. My Reader’s Digest collection grew over 150 unique records. I found that often there were re-issues on a different SHOL label number promoting the same LP box set. It’s a never ending story. PJ

Pieter Jan Vink

2018-12-20 21:22:50

2018. There is always more. I now have 318 flexies by Lyntone, Flexi records, SFI etc. and 47 by Sonopresse Holland (including pressings for Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Germany etc).

Pieter Jan Vink

2019-09-12 20:29:16

My counter for European Reader’s Digest flexies issues now stands at 467. On top of that I have some Park Lane issues from Canada. And there is more…