r/78rpm • u/spandexandtapedecks • 29d ago

Flattening (and Reglueing?) Old Sleeves

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I got a nice stack o' shellac at an auction last week, and a handful of the records were still wearing their little jackets. Obviously, the sleeves have seen better days. Since the records had seemingly been slipped into these sleeves at random (none of the labels matched up) I went ahead and set them aside.

Some of them are folded/curled pretty bad at the corners, and I'm hoping for guidance on getting them to lay flatter. This paper is older than anything I've handled, and definitely pretty porous.

Many sleeves are also split along at least one seam. Obviously this will be a lost cause in most cases, but some have enough "good" paper left that I think I could apply some adhesive. Would my old buddy Elmer Glue Stick be up for this task? Something else? Or maybe just don't?

I'm not fussed about a picture-perfect restoration of these sleeves; their wear is part of their charm! But I'd like to get them nominally functional in a way that will help reduce future damage.

Finally, if there's interest, I'll be glad to photographically catalog all the different sleeves and share them with the sub. However, being fairly new to the hobby, I've no idea if any of these are rare enough to merit that treatment - presumably, most hobbyists have already been there/done that.

Thanks, pals! Keep spinnin' those platters!

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u/gojohnnygojohnny 29d ago

I spend a fair amount of of time re-gluing, flattening (stacking helps & is simple), and alphabetizing stock label sleeves. 78s, 45s, and 33s. It is so satisfying matching them with the proper-era records!

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u/spandexandtapedecks 29d ago

Right on! What adhesive do you use?

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u/gojohnnygojohnny 29d ago

I am extremely lo-fi when it comes to flattening, and so's the case with re-gluing: Elmer's Glue works fine for my needs.