The World’s Largest Collection of Vinyl Records – Vacheron Costantin
December 15, 2016 6:23 amZero Freitas has the largest collection of vinyl records in the world – six million and counting, most of them are stacked haphazardly in boxes in a 25,000-square-foot former candle factory in São Paulo. An impulsive collector, he regularly buys entire collections that he finds through classified ads he takes out in Billboard magazine, and with the help of the scouts he employs all over the world. He’s even hired a team of interns who spend 8 hours a day archiving his collection, but Mr. Freitas knows that they’ll never really put a dent in what owns. When I asked him how much time he spends each week listening to his records, he told me that he mostly listens to the radio.
Each year the Genevan watchmaker Vacheron Costantin releases an art book titled Collectors’ Island, and this is the second of three stories I shot for the this year’s project.
Many thanks to Studio Sibling for the invaluable creative direction and to Lara LoCalzo for her exceptional production work. Also thanks to Flavio Samelo and Jayelle Hudson for their help in São Paulo.
5 Comments
How does Mr. Freitas support himself? You make no mention of him TRADING in vinyl or selling anything. Is he actually just an up-class hoarder? Who is heir to his collection? Reed, your photos capture beautifully the magnitude and rudimentary (haphazard) maintenance of his collection.
oh my god Reed, the photos are AMAZING
@Warren Riedesel, from other stories on zero that I’ve read over the years he owns a transportation company and audio/visual company for concerts. And no, he does not trade or sell anything. His buyers that he has employed have tried for years to get him to sell just some of the records that he has several copies of and he won’t. He is just as you said, an upper class hoarder.
I am trying to contact Zero Freitas. I have the largest collection of vinyl in Nyc that I want to sell.
Beautiful documentary of the fragility of our sonic heritage. I’m currently wondering what to do with my own considerable CD and LP collections, not to mention books. Thank you for these photos.