Phonograph envelope

Graphon Edison

The first sound recordings were made by Thomas Edison , who created the phonograph - the first apparatus for recording and playing sounds. Before that, professional performance of music could be heard at a concert, in opera, at dances ... The music in the houses was of a completely different nature: it was mostly lullabies for children, or someone hummed something at work for themselves, there could be home ones, family concerts ... When the first recordings became available in droves, the situation changed and

music has become the material for a rapidly growing industry. <...> Music separated from a certain atmosphere or certain events <...>. Music has become a commodity. This was not particularly noticeable until the fourth decade of the existence of the music industry, when the packaging of phonograph records with the help of certain signs did not become a more effective mediator between musicians and their audience. ^[one]

Indeed, mass music in houses came from the invention of the gramophone and gramophone record, and now the piece of music is “towards the public”, “the choral piece, performed in the hall or under the open sky, can be heard in the room” ^[2] . During the existence of the music industry, a lot has changed: in recording technologies, musical trends, and, of course, in what “form” music falls into our hands: from plain boxes for Edison’s “rollers” to album covers of our days.

The talking machine, which until recently was considered a scientific one, inspiring reverence for Mystery, which the audience accidentally met only at exhibitions, is now, in the full sense of the word, the sincere friend of many thousand families. Undoubtedly, the graphophone is a precious contribution of science, intended for the entertainment and learning of humanity. ^[3]

The phonograph rollers were very fragile and sold in stiff cardboard boxes lined with down . Edison later developed the “rollers” more durable and requiring less solid packaging. The design of the boxes for the “rollers” was standardized, and hardly changed until the 1920s: several decorative patterns and a slogan about the quality of the product were depicted on the box. Boxes for rollers were very similar in quality to boxes, for example, with soap, but they were cylindrical in shape. The name of the record could be determined by the small sticker on the box and the hard-to-read inscription on the rim of the “roller” itself. However, if Edison’s “roller” can be considered the “ancestor” of a vinyl record, then a gramophone disc made a little later can be considered its “parent”.

Records made first on rubber and then on shellac were initially sold without any packaging at all. Since 1910, records began to be transported and sold in paper envelopes. All information related to the recording was on a sticker in the center of the record itself - the “label” , as we now call it, and it was soon decided to make round holes in the envelope for convenience.

The paper envelope of the plate became more and more complex, they tried to give it a special look so that it stood out among others. Often envelopes looked like some kind of label frames, the figure obeyed the shape of a circle in the center. In most cases, the design of the plates, claiming a certain aesthetic appeal, the label dictates the overall design of the envelope. The label presented the product, which was a neutral-looking black disk, so it had to be sophisticated and unusual. Usually two or three colors were used, one of which would be silver or gold.

Record protection did not bother manufacturers very much. Wealthy owners of phonographs could afford good wooden cabinets for storing records, but mostly they did not transport and store records very carefully, so many records were damaged and their life was very short. The first envelopes for phonograph records, which came into use, were presented by stores where the records themselves were sold. Plain cardboard envelopes were stamped with chain stores such as Woolworth . Often on the back there was a place for advertising . For example, it could be an advertisement for gramophone needles produced by a branch of a record company. Basically, the images present on the envelopes were neutral and almost universal, and they can be easily used several times to design different records.

The first envelope, which could well be called individualized for a particular recording, is the recording envelope of the German opera singer Frida Leader, on which her photo is posted and the name of the performer and the name of the song performed by her are signed.

Since the 1920s also began the production of “record albums”, which are envelopes with records, fastened together in a kind of “ album ” (from where the modern meaning of the expression “ music album ” came from). Usually, classical symphonies were published in this way, since they did not fit entirely on one record. Such “albums” usually had plain covers with a signature on the front side and on the “spine”.

In 1939, “albums” began to appear with pictures on the cover, usually painted in very vivid colors, sometimes with the artist’s image superimposed on it. Such pictures were printed on paper and glued to the front of the “album”. The design of all these envelopes was carried out by freelance designers and could be used several times with the replacement of gluing on top of the picture. In the 40s. Recognizable “formulas”, characteristic styles for recording records of different directions, began to appear and develop gradually. Black and white photographs of famous artists prevailed on the covers of classical music recordings, while photographs on “non-white” musicians seldom appeared. This can be explained by the considerations of companies that this could worsen sales. Records of such artists are usually framed in a geometric, abstract image with the dominance of maroon, yellow and brown.

The envelope was also influenced by the technical factor: until a certain moment, there were a lot of options for the release of records with different speeds of playing records on them, and these records were of different sizes. Until the middle of the 20th century, there was no single standard, and companies produced records of various sizes: from 5 to 13 inches with a playback speed of 8 1/2 to 78 revolutions per minute.

An important role in the development of the recording industry was played by the growing influence of the two media in the 40s and 50s. - popular music and cinema . The largest record companies in America have been associated, including with the film industry . They quickly realized that music and films were consumed mainly by the same people. The result is the release of soundtracks for Hollywood musicals , first in the form of the above-mentioned “albums”, and later on LP , with the obligatory image of a movie poster or well-known actors on the cover that is already familiar to the viewer. So, in 1952, after the release of which later became one of the classic musical “ Singing in the Rain ”, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released records with eight songs from the film (14 songs in total, while only 2 of them were written specifically for this musical). The cover of the record is made in a bright, cheerful range, to match the mood of the musical.

Sometimes the creator of the art of the cover design is called graphic designer Alexander Steinweis . One day he discussed the creation of an envelope for new long-playing records with the president of Columbia , and asked him for permission to develop a new envelope himself. Plus, he found an investor ready to invest $ 250,000 in this business. After that, Steinweis developed a new packaging standard. Until the 40s, color images on envelopes, if they were present, are very rare and only in the form of sheets glued over the cover. Alex Steinweis was the first to draw attention to the fact that an envelope can be made brighter and better, in fact, creating what was later called the art of album art. He created the covers of phonograph records from 1939 to 1973, when he decided to devote himself completely to painting. According to him, he created more than 2500 covers.

In 1956 , the first record of Elvis Presley was released , with a rather unusual cover: it depicts not just a man in action, not posing in front of the camera, but, moreover, with a distorted face reflecting the ecstatic state of the singer. Of course, such a cover could not fail to attract young people, who were mostly used to somewhat pretended, artificial, ideal portrayals of performers. However, such an example is more an exception than a step to a new stage in the development of the cover of a record, since "it was still very important for Hollywood to create attractive covers, regardless of the music contained on the record." ^[four]

Some audacity, recognizable refinement of the design of the covers of jazz records of the 50s are associated with avant-garde photography, design and self-awareness of “progressive” music ^[5] .

A slightly different situation was with the covers of jazz music . The release of jazz in the 1950s. engaged mainly in small companies specializing in it. Often such small companies, unlike large ones, themselves carried out the entire process of creating a record from sound recording to advertising and packaging. As a rule, such companies were owned by jazz lovers who approached the matter with great attention. This attitude and the "improvisational nature of jazz itself led to a more flexible approach to design" ^[6] . Here we can fix the first conscious attempt to link the image on the envelope of the plate with musical content.

At the same time, freelance illustrators , whose works are known from fashion magazines and other publications, are beginning to be involved in creating covers. One of these authors was the artist David Stonemartin, who created more than four hundred covers in the 50s and 60s, and he made many covers for free, and the style of his drawings became steadily associated with the company Verve , for which he created them. He worked in the graphic technique, using two or three colors, large spots and a fairly loose, but at the same time clear line. His drawings can be called modernist , which corresponds to the jazz music that he designed.

Another example of a non-standard approach to the cover is the work of American designer and photographer Reed Miles, who began his career in Esquire magazine in the early 50s, and then invited the Blue Note company, which released jazz music in 1956, to create covers. On his covers, Reed Miles posted both his graphics and photographs, several processed by him. Sometimes the prose side of life intervened in the creative process of Reed Miles: Blue Note did not always have enough money to produce full-color covers, and often had to do with just two colors. However, for Miles, this was just an excuse to prove his inventiveness as a designer once again: such covers do not look “poor” or simplistic, everything looks as if the author had no limitations and chose his own style, laconic in color scheme, of his own free will .

In the mid-1960s, rock music was gaining momentum, and record companies had to make some concessions to popular artists, who gradually became masters of the situation. This factor was reflected in the design of the envelopes of records, in which the musicians themselves are taking more and more part. The bands no longer “needed to create a few hits before she could make an album. They were given more power, and this became evident from the way their image was presented to the public ” ^[7] . Indeed, the greater interest of the groups in their covers led to the fact that she herself began to hire designers, artists and photographers of her choice. “Record companies did not oppose them, as it was noticed that such a strategy leads to commercial success” ^[8] .

One of the most revolutionary covers of the early 60s can be considered the cover of the album " Undercurrent ", recorded by jazz pianist Bill Evans and jazz guitarist Jim Hall . The photograph used in its design was first published in Harper's Bazaar magazine in December 1947 (photographer Tony Frissel ). The image refers to the name of the plate, which can be translated as “Hidden power”, “Underwater current”, a kind of force that is opposite to what is visible on the surface. Inside the envelope was a poem:

Eye dance is an instrument of truth.
Sieve, sickle and plank,
Red dirt and gray mold
They divided the shells, plowed the fabric of the cries of living skeletons.
A long brown stone lifted a dull nose.
“Bare day?” Puffed slices of sound, blushing.

Original text

Eyes dance truth's instrument.

Sieve, sickle and sloat, red grimes gray molds parted skins furrowed tissue lives skeletal screams.
Longbrown stone blunt nose raised.

“Naked day?” Puffed sound slices blush.

Such envelope design is, rather, a rare exception than the general trend, but perhaps this plate laid the foundation for what we will see by the end of the 60s with the advent of psychedelics and other trends in both the design and the “filling” of the plate envelope .

The cover of a vinyl record can rightfully be called one of the most popular, diverse and replicated objects. The design of covers as a whole fits into the current artistic trends - there are examples of covers for each of them. The art of vinyl cover fits into the postmodern concept of art in general, which is not surprising, given the fact that many musicians were fond of modern literature and philosophy, and not only composed and recorded music. So, for example, to the surprise of many, Jim Morrison , the lead singer of The Doors, was well acquainted with the works of Montaigne , Russo , Hume , Sartre , Heidegger , Nietzsche and others.

Ilya Ilyin in his book Post-Structuralism. Deconstructivism. Postmodernism, ”writes:

On the one hand, using thematic material and the technique of popular mass culture, the works of postmodernism have the advertising appeal of the consumer goods for all people, including those who are not too artistically enlightened. On the other hand, by a mock interpretation of earlier <...> works, an ironic interpretation of their plots and techniques, he appeals to the most sophisticated audience ^[9] .

And then, retelling Professor Theo D'an:

... works of postmodernism expose the mystification process that occurs when the media influence public consciousness, and thereby prove the problematic nature of the picture that mass culture inspires the mass public ^[10] .

All these remarks about the works of postmodern are quite true with respect to the covers of records of the 60-70s.

In many cases, covers in a particular style arose with some lag behind the emergence of an artistic direction. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that the musicians received relative, but not yet completely complete freedom in the design of covers only in the early 60s, and received full control over the appearance of their albums only in the mid 60s. Although, there are exceptions when the cover was created in parallel with the popularity of the direction. For example, the debut album “ The Velvet Underground and Nico ”, released in 1967, for which the cover was created by Andy Warhol (see Pop Art ).

• ALBUM COVER HALL OF FAME'S // rockpopgallery.com
• Record History

1. Benjamin V. A work of art in the era of its technical reproducibility. Selected Essays .. - M .: Medium, 1996. - 296 p.
2. Ilyin I. Post-structuralism. Deconstructivism. Postmodernism .. - M .: Intrada, 1996. - 252 p.
3. Graphophone. The best sound production machines of the new stage .. - Berlin, 1902. - 52 p.
4. Dean R., Thorgerson S. Album Cover Album .. - Limpsfield, 1977 .-- 160 p.

• Andreeva E. Yu. Postmodernism: Art of the second half of the XX - beginning of the XXI century .. - St. Petersburg. : ABC classic, 2007 .-- 488 p.
• Lyotard J.-F. The state of postmodern .. - SPb. : Alteya, 1998 .-- 160 p.
• Benedict B. Phonographics: Contemporary album cover art & design .. - New York, 1977.
• Pollock B., Wagman J. The Face Of Rock'n'Roll .. - Holburn, London, 1978.
• Macan E. Rocking The Classics .. - Oxford University Press., 1997.