We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
Picture discs bring together two of a record collector’s favorite things—12-inch vinyl and gorgeous album art. As such, picture discs would appear to be the perfect marriage of sound and vision. Who wouldn’t want a disc featuring the cover of...
Continue reading
Picture discs bring together two of a record collector’s favorite things—12-inch vinyl and gorgeous album art. As such, picture discs would appear to be the perfect marriage of sound and vision. Who wouldn’t want a disc featuring the cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by The Beatles or “Thriller” by Michael Jackson on it’s grooved surface? The answer is an audiophile, a breed of collector that tends to be very unforgiving of anything that compromises a record’s sound quality, even slightly. Picture discs made during the last several decades sound radically better than their predecessors from the 1920s and ’30s, when the eye-catching format was first introduced. But contemporary picture discs still feature a thin layer of clear PVC between the phonograph needle and the artwork on the disc. This protects the picture but degrades the audio compared to traditional black or solid-colored vinyl discs. One of the first series of picture discs to make a name for themselves among listeners were the Vogue picture discs from the late 1940s. Manufactured by Sav-Way Industries in Detroit, the catalog of 74, 10-inch, 78 rpm discs produced between the spring of 1946 and ’47 had aluminum cores, with “vinylite” on the surface. Discs sold for as little as 50 cents, and artists included Art Mooney and his Orchestra (“I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”), The Charlie Shavers Quintet (“Serenade to a Pair of Nylons”), and Judy Garland (“Trolley Song”). Some of the images on Vogue discs appear downright creepy to 21st-century eyes. For example, “I Surrender Dear” by The King’s Jesters and Louise depicts a woman on her knees, wearing a low-cut strapless dress and heels, as she presents a plate of food to a man, whose stern film-noir profile fills the rest of the disc. But most were just fun—“Rhumba Lesson No. 1” by Paul Shahin was one of several discs that came with dance steps. Production of picture discs and colored vinyl continued throughout the 1950s and...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

Mybeatles.net
Jesse Barron's collection of Beatles 45s, picture sleeves, magazines, books, and memorabilia....
Association of Vogue Picture Record Collectors
This great site, from the Association of Vogue Picture Record Collectors, offers detailed...
Vinyl Divas
Vinyl Divas pays homage to international female opera singers of the LP era. Chronicling more...
317X
Despite its mysterious title, 317X is plain and simple—an online gallery of vintage LPs, with a...
The Remington Site
Since 1999, the Remington Site has offered classical music collectors a glimpse into Remington...
Most Watched

Best of the Web

Mybeatles.net
Jesse Barron's collection of Beatles 45s, picture sleeves, magazines, books, and memorabilia....
Association of Vogue Picture Record Collectors
This great site, from the Association of Vogue Picture Record Collectors, offers detailed...
Vinyl Divas
Vinyl Divas pays homage to international female opera singers of the LP era. Chronicling more...
317X
Despite its mysterious title, 317X is plain and simple—an online gallery of vintage LPs, with a...
The Remington Site
Since 1999, the Remington Site has offered classical music collectors a glimpse into Remington...