Paul Mawhinney and the World’s Largest Record Collection in ‘The Archive.’

Posted on December 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

It’s been two years since Sean Dunne’s mini-documentary The Archive hit the internet, summarizing how Paul Mawhinney amassed the world’s largest record collection and why he must sell it. While there are some who (for whatever reason or another) feel the need to question Mr. Mawhinney’s motives for both taking in such a large collection and selling it all in one package, what I find inspiring in all this is that it really is a simple story of a man following his passions, and wants to see his love passed on to those who would appreciate the novelty of vinyl records.

Naturally, if I had $3 million, I’d give those records a good home, no questions asked.

I tried to find an update to Mr. Mawhinney’s story, and the best I could find is a profile from September of this year, but it sounds like the author merely watched the video and wrote it down as if he sat down with him. There’s no new information, so as far as I can assume: 1) Mr. Mawhinney is still alive and 2) he is still offering his record collection for $3 million.

This entry was posted in B-Culture, Whisky Tango Foxtrot. and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 responses to “Paul Mawhinney and the World’s Largest Record Collection in ‘The Archive.’”

  1. Josh Dieckmann | January 21, 2011 at 2:37 am | Reply

    What I don’t understand is, why he isn’t willing to part it out. I mean, there are probably bits and pieces (as a bit of a specialized vinyl collector myself) that I’d be very interested in, depending on the per-item price. However, VERY few people or organizations are going to have the funds to take on an endeavor like that. He would make WAY more money if he sold items individually, if it’s true that he has it all cataloged. It will naturally take longer, but in this hand-to-mouth economy, he can’t hope for much.

  2. electriccomicbook | January 27, 2011 at 11:44 pm | Reply

    My only guess, really, is that at his age and with his health, to bother with such an undertaking would be quite troublesome if his goal is to get rid of the whole thing. You’re absolutely right: at an auction or even at any old weekend record swap, individual pieces would probably go for a greater value than the assumed value in putting it together with this giant package. And if it were left to anyone else in his family, I think the task at hand would be equally daunting if they’re unaware of the market values.

    So, yes, unfortunately, we’re going to have to chalk this one up to laziness.

Leave a comment