[78-L] Blackbirds of 1928 album, Was: Upcoming Steinweiss book

[Philip Fukuda]

Michael,
Your description of the Blackbirds set is tantalizing! What does it look like? The records are fairly common, but I've never seen the album.

I think another rare one is the Brunswick Show Boat set from '32. Later reissued on Columbia.

Philip Fukuda
 > From: Michael Biel 
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Upcoming Steinweiss book
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>(snip)
> 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.
(snip)