Mr. Leonardo — Vintage Vinyl

The Columbus Flea market was originally established in 1919 and while it started as an auction for cattle and horses, it still stands today as a prime example of a modern flea market. Hundreds of tables are set up everyday to sell everything from clothing to dog bones. It was easy to be overwhelmed by the combination of items and people but among everything one table stood out. Nestled among all the tables overstuffed with knicknacks was a smaller tables with several milk crates filled entirely by records. Walking closer to the table revealed that also for sale was other music memorabilia, like a guitar.

The records themselves spanned decades with some of them coming from the late 1970s. Sifting through the records revealed not only the range of styles and artists but also just how many records there were. There had to have been over a hundred of them, all of them kept neatly sealed and in excellent condition. The man in charge of the booth was a man named Mr. Leonardo, and he sat lounging in his large white van. His hands, partially covered by fingerless gloves, were being warmed over a small heater.

He seemed happy to see people looking at his items, even more happy when he learned that we were in high school. He explained that the majority of the records for sale were collected when he was in high school. Most of his life he had been surrounded by music so he enjoyed selling the records to continue to spread music to other people. When I asked him if he was sad to sell any of his collection, he slyly explained that his favorite records were not for sale. The records that he said he would never sell were his Led Zeppelin ones and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

Mr. Leonardo had questions of his own, namely why did I have a camera and what records was I planning on buying. I explained to him that the purpose of the assignment was to talk to vendors and take pictures and that I was in a photography class. Once again he was happy and explained that he had been in a photography club when he was in high school. He reflected on his own photography, explaining that it was never very good and how difficult it was to take pictures back then. I joked with him that shooting on film was somewhat of a style now, and that it was becoming popular to shoot with it.

“Everything gets a return I guess.” He said with a laugh. He told a story about when he was in high school, his parents told him they were getting a divorce and he got so upset that he briefly ran away from home. He went hitchhiking and eventually got picked up by a man who was really nice to him and ultimately ended up convincing him to go home. A few weeks later, he met his new photography teacher only to learn that it was the same guy who had picked him up. He said that really encouraged him to keep taking pictures and led him to even winning a few contests. Though he admitted that sometimes he thought he only won the contests because his teacher didn’t want him to reveal how they originally met.

Mr. Leonardo looked at the records in my hands and smiled when he noticed Queen’s “A Night at the Opera”. He said one of the coolest things about growing up when he did was getting to hear albums like that on the radio. We chatted briefly about the new Queen movie and how it could never really properly explain how exciting it was when they were popular. Purchasing my records and walking away left me feeling good, because even though there was at least a thirty year age difference between two of us, we were still able to have a civil conversation. In this day and age when sometimes age acts as a barrier between people, it was refreshing to see that music can still connect people of all ages.