[78-L] Steinweiss and illustrated album covers

[David Lennick]

C-11 is actually more interesting on the inside, where the information is 
contained on two sides of a printed program. Beatrice Kay's Naughty 90s had a 
clever liner as well. I presume Mr. Steinweiss would have designed those as 
well, or was he strictly an outside man?

dl

soundthink at aol.com wrote:
> I haven't been too fond of most of Steinweiss's works, which are rather functional as opposed to artistic. There was a gallery presentation last year in Santa Monica, Calif. that had a few hundred of his better album covers displayed and these were nice. But I think there were certainly other, more imaginative artists back then, such as Jim Flora.
> 
> Cary Ginell
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Thomas Stern <sternth at attglobal.net>
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Thu, 21 May 2009 10:58 am
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Steinweiss and illustrated album covers
> 
> 
> 
> Have you had any conversations with Heller?
>   Wonder if he is simply using the misrepresentation for
> "marketing" his work with the mass of people for whom such claims
> appeal, and for whom the shades of distinction between successfully
> initiating a fashion, and inventing it is lost.
>   If you have corresponded with him, what is his position?
>   As implied in my initial query, I doubted the claim of invention,
> but also know all those drab generic jackets on Columbia and RCA albums
> from the 30's.  I was aware of the Bubble Books, but one might discount
> them since they were children's albums, and out of the mainstream of
> record albums.  The G&S covers I did not mention, since I had only
> a vague recollection of them, an could not find images or discussion
> of them.
>   From the posts so far, seems like the G&S albums would be the earliest.
> BTW - are there images of them somewhere on the web?
>   There is a lovely site devoted to Little Wonder/Bubble Books (first Bubble
> Book was 1917)
> here: http://www.littlewonderrecords.com/bubble-book-discography.html
>   Any other candidates for earliest illustrated albums?
> Cheers, Thomas.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com]On Behalf Of Michael Biel
> Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 10:56 AM
> To: 78-L Mail List
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Steinweiss and illustrated album covers
> 
> 
> I just started a discussion group on the Amazon page for the new $400
> book.  Go there and join in on the discussion!
> 
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Steinweiss and illustrated album covers
> From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> Date: Thu, May 21, 2009 9:52 am
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> 
> I have LONG been incensed with the author of this book often repeated
> lie about Steinweiss being the inventor of the modern illustrated record
> album cover. I tried to correct someone's web site about this just last
> week. I just submitted the review reprinted below to Amazon's listing
> of the sma
> ller inexpensive Steinweiss book mentioned by Cary, and will
> put it in for the new book as soon as they start accepting reviews when
> it is published. I URGE others with facts, such as the posters on this
> thread, to put their own reviews in as well.
> 
>>>> Steinweiss did NOT invent the illustrated record cover, May 21, 2009
> By MJB -
> I wish there was some way to stop Steven Heller from repeating the
> falsehood that Steinweiss "invented" the illustrated album cover. He has
> taken the fact of when Steinweiss did HIS first illustrated cover and
> taken it to mean that it was THE first illustrated cover. There had been
> a series of nearly 100 illustrated album covers on Decca Records for
> nearly six years BEFORE Steinweiss's first cover. And even before that,
> Show Boat on Brunswick had an illustrated cover. Other companies had
> used illustrated album covers. RCA Bluebird had children's albums with
> illustrated covers, the Bubble Books were completely illustrated
> children's record albums going back to the World War One era, and many
> other examples I can name and show. Calling Steinweiss the "inventor" of
> the modern illustrated album cover is a factual error, but Stephen
> Heller just keeps on and on and on publishing new books and articles
> repeating this falsehood, convincing people who have no first-hand
> knowledge of record albums that this is a fact. Steinweiss is a
> talented, wonderful, inventive artist, but all he did was convince
> Columbia to compete with the well established, long running series of
> illustrated album covers that Decca had been using for many years. He
> did not "invent" the concept of the illustrated album cover, he did not
> create the first illustrated record album, he just changed the attitude
> of HIS company, and then created some wonderful art. Isn't that good
> enough? This is a beautiful book, but is flawed because of the
> overreaching claim of priority that seems to have overwhelmed the other
> reviewers. <<<
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> 
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> 
> 
> HMV put out complete G
> ilbert and Sullivan operettas in the late 1910s
> with
> gorgeous full colour covers. And the Brunswick Showboat set is something
> to
> behold, with the artwork extending across the back cover and signed
> photographs
> of the performers on the inside.
> 
> Personally, I find Steinweiss's stuff too "adorable" much of the time.
> Give me
> DSM. If you ever find the DISC album of Prokofiev conducting Romeo and
> Juliet
> (which is absolutely worthless from a technical standpoint, even if it
> was
> pressed on vinyl), that cover is a surrealistic masterpiece and one
> character
> in it looks exactly like Marlon Brando, a couple of years before anyone
> ever
> heard of him.
> 
> dl
> 
> Sam Hopper wrote:
>> This might be of interest regarding examples of 78rpm album work:
>>
>> http://78rpmalbums.gramophile.com/
>>
>> Thanks, Sam
>>
>>
>> On 21/05/2009, at 3:07 PM, Thomas Stern wrote:
>>
>>> The recent post about the limited edition STEINWEISS book raises the
>>> question of whether he is actually the originator of illustrated
>>> record albums.
>>> The BUBBLE BOOKS from the teens 20's certainly qualify as illustrated
>>> jackets, but
>>> I cannot envision popular or classical albums from the early 30's with
>>> illustrated jackets.
>>> I hope folks on the list can give examples and perhaps pinpoint when
>>> illustrated jackets
>>> actually began.
>>> Thanks, Thomas.
>