The personal vinyl collection of Tom Verlaine, founder of the New York band Television, will be offered for sale through a partnership between online marketplace Discogs and Brooklyn’s Academy Records.
Verlaine, who died in 2023, amassed roughly 4,000 records over his lifetime. The collection offers a direct look at the listening habits that shaped his work as a musician in New York’s downtown scene.
The sale begins June 26 on Discogs. A curated selection of titles will be available in person at Academy Records on July 10 and 11, and the online sale concludes July 31. All Discogs purchases will include a certificate of authenticity.
Highlights include Verlaine’s own copies of Television’s debut single Little Johnny Jewel and debut LP Marquee Moon, as well as Easter Everywhere by the 13th Floor Elevators and Nico’s Chelsea Girl.
Russ Ryan of Discogs said:
“A lifetime of [Verlaine’s] digging is in these 4,000 records, and our job is to keep them in circulation rather than let them vanish into a vault. Whether they go to a collector in Tokyo or someone walking into Academy, the music stays in the world the way it always has, passing from one set of hands to the next.”
