Laminated Records, 78s?

Are you playing them at 78 rpm, and if so, what equipment are you using? I have a record deck myself, but it's not capable of playing anything at 78rpm. Very few record decks are.

If you are playing them at 33 or 45 rpm and they sound as though they are playing at the correct speed, then they are not 78s.

Oops,

Just spotted the  at the end of your post.

Sorry!

Well there is no indication of the record speed anywhere on the fold out, or the records themselves.  Sounded like shite though.

Does it feel brittle and not in any way flexible?

The vast majority of 78rpms were made of shellac which was a different compound to 33.3srpm.

What size is the label on the record? Is it smaller than standard? Although this isn't an absolute, most 78s had a smaller label than most 33.3srpm.

My feeling is its a 33.3rpm but take a picture (or find the the catalogue number) of the back and that will confirm it.

It could have a higher noise level, especially if it's a very early 33.3rpm as the compound of these has been improved and refined over time (until about the mid-1970s).

I have a bunch of 78s from my dad, ella and Duke, Ella sings Pig Foot Pete, we used to laugh at that back in mid 60s .

This is indeed a 78 R.P.M. record and was issued as part of a 2 disc set in 1945 MX-257 on Columbia Masterworks. The individual discs are numbered 12164-D and 12165-D. Do not play these unless you have a stylus specifically designed for 78 R.P.M. records even if your deck will spin at 78. (Most as previously stated will not). I play mine on this:-