Hi, cnd - I'm guessing that 78 rpm record is pretty old, probably from the days before records were made in vinyl. They were heavy and a lot thicker then, and tended to be very fragile. And yes, they did tend to get a bit powdery. I don't know what they were made of - it almost seemed like Bakelite.

My dad had a big record collection. While he was still in school, he had a job servicing juke boxes, and he got to keep the records he replaced. He let me play them on occasion. I tried to be very careful, but a few of them fell apart in my hands. I don't think my dad ever got upset about that. I think he was pleased that I liked his music.

-Joe-