[78-L] Upcoming Steinweiss book

[Michael Biel]

fnarf at comcast.net wrote:
> Yes, they did. Those are the album covers Steinweiss is alleged to have invented, 78 albums. But typically, before Steinweiss and other pioneers (AND OTHER PIONEERS, I will preemptively yell) started putting pictures on the front, they weren't sold with the records, but rather as separate blank albums. Indeed, if I'm not mistaken,

You ARE mistaken.

>  the first pictorial 78 albums were sold empty, to be filled with discs by the purchaser, sort of like stamp or coin albums, which they were I think modeled on.
>
>
>   
While Cary has that Jimmie Rogers album from 1933 that he thinks was 
sold empty, I am talking about regular numbered albums sold with 
specific records.  Decca's 1941 catalog, copyright 1940, includes the 
album numerical listing thru number 199, most -- if not all -- of them 
issued with illustrated covers prior to Steinweiss's first album cover.  
And prior to Decca, Brunswick (run by the same Jack Kapp) had issued 
several albums with GEORGOUS covers, such as Blackbirds of 1928.  Decca 
and Bluebird/Victor had issued childrens albums in the 30s with 
illustrated covers, and you can count in the Bubble Books which had 
illustrations throughout, and the Tiny Tots albums with color covers.  
All of you have at least one copy of the Decca Porgy and Bess from 1939, 
and that cover is not out of the ordinary for Decca.  I have several 
copies of the earlier Victor P&B with Tibbett and they all have an 
illustrated cover -- did that originally come out with a plain cover?  I 
have Columbia Masterworks Set 340 with ARC era labels that has a 5x7 
glossy of Maurice Evans glued on the cover, with the titling printed 
below.   And I have other examples even in the 20s.  I know that some of 
these are "dead end" since they didn't continue or affect the industry, 
but Decca is an example of a long term series that existed prior to, and 
continued parrallel to, Steinweiss.  STEINWEISS DID NOT INVENT THE 
MODERN ILLUSTRATED ALBUM COVER, HE BORROWED THE IDEA FROM 
DECCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  PERIOD.  END OF STORY.

All of the empty performer albums that I have are of 1940s performers.  
My theory has been that these were manufactured to emulate the 
illustrated albums which had become common by then, not prior to them 
becoming common.   There were these exceptions, but this was never a 
really big part of the record industry. 

And again I challenge whoever came up with that "800% sales increase 
within months" figure to source it and to prove that cutting the price 
of the records in half did not cause whatever increase there was.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ron L'Herault" <lherault at bu.edu>
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 1:14:07 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Upcoming Steinweiss book
>
> Did not 78 Albums have artwork much like an LP (or Lp) cover?   So then, is
> it not just an adaptation of what was already in existence?
>
> Ron L
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Michael Biel
> Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 4:09 PM
> To: 78-L Mail List
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Upcoming Steinweiss book
>
> Don Cox wrote:
>  > So who was the inventor of the modern album cover?
>
> This supposes that there was an "invention" of the modern album cover by a
> person, not a general trend in the industry.  But I suppose, since the Decca
> Album series had about 200 albums, mostly with illustrated covers, by the
> time of Steinweiss's first cover, I suppose the Art Department of Decca
> might be credited.  But there are many examples prior to the founding of
> Decca, so I think they were just, to use the words of one of the songs from
> a Decca album, "doin' what comes naturally".
>
> Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com   
>
>
>
>   
>> Hello Michael
>>
>> On 25/09/2009, Michael Biel wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> Bertrand CHAUMELLE wrote:
>>>     
>>>       
>>>> http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/search/result.1.htm? 
>>>> show_all=catalogue&search_string=steinweiss&linkbutton=Search
>>>>   
>>>>       
>>>>         
>>>>> BC
>>>>>     
>>>>>         
>>>>>           
>>>>   
>>>>       
>>>>         
>>> Below is a more appropriate URL for the book, and you can view pages
>>> and go to other versions of the book from here.
>>>
>>>       
> http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/01099/facts.alex_steinw
> eiss_inventor_of_the_modern_album_cover_art_edition.htm
>   
>>> Of course Steinweiss was NOT the "inventor" of the modern album cover.
>>> And I would like to know where the bullcrap about Columbia sales
>>> increasing 800% in six months because of the covers comes from. It
>>> doesn't mention that this also was at the time that prices for
>>> Masterworks were cut in half. I bet that had MUCH MORE to do with
>>> increased sales!!!
>>>
>>>
>>>