Here are 2 Satellite label scans. The first one is the standard label design. The release date is from Sept 1959. Standard Plastic Products type setting. But what about the second one? What are the fonts for this one? In the dead wax : Sheldon S608 240 Does anyone have some info?
That R looks like Tempo...are these labels even related? If so, I didn't know that the NRC had distributed the Stax Sattelite.
The record label name, title and artist on the second label scan are indeed Tempo Bold, a Ludlow font. The "Sheldon" on the dead wax might indicate that this was mastered by Sheldon Sound in Chicago(!). NRC may have distributed the label for a very short time before it hooked up with Atlantic (and then changed its name to Stax). I can't recall what the small font is, but it was definitely made by Ludlow. Probably may have something to do with Chicago-based Midwest Pressings which handled the Chess labels?
Did Ludlow have an Optima knock-off? It's hard to tell from the scan; some of the letters look similar, but not quite (like the 8) there.
Funny thing is, I have an exact copy of that record, with same fonts and everything. This was evidently after March of 1968, as 6 point Spartan Heavy Condensed had replaced 6 point Gothic Condensed No. 4 as the small text font at Columbia's Pitman, NJ plant by then; the other typefaces are 14 point Erbar Bold Condensed for the catalogue number, and 12 point Gothic No. 16 for everything else.
CSN&Y Deja Vu question... Could EAstin and STewart be the E A S T found surrounding the center hole of the Specialty pressing of Deja Vu? In my quest to find the best sounding Lp of this, the winner so far is one of these pressings. Can anyone elaborate on Eastin and Stewart? --Roger
Is this an ARP pressing? It's a really thick record. I thought someone had stuck two LPs in the sleeve, or maybe a 78!
Sorry to say, no. This typesetting I remember from quite a few late 1960's albums on ABC/Dunhill (plus the style - the times justified right opposite from the band number and title), so it may have been from an East Coast plant. I'd check the dead wax to see if there are any indicating marks as to where this pressing originated. Nor would it be Allentown Record Co. of Allentown, PA. Probably from Sonic Recording Products ("SON" etched in the dead wax) of Holbrook, NY. Besides, ARP had much bigger type (specified elsewhere in this thread) that cluttered the label. Me, I'm looking for a Columbia pressing with Pitman-originated typesetting, of this album.
That's it exactly. Thanks. The masters, by the way, are Bell Sound (RCK). This is about as thick a slab of 70s vinyl as I've encountered (7.5 oz. according to my little postal scale).
The initials of which indicate the mastering engineer Robin C. Kruse who, along with Sam Feldman ("sf") and Joe Brescio ("Joe"), were Bell Sound's core mastering staff in the early 1970's.
W.B., Here are 3 Shelly label scans. Usual questions. The first one seemed to me identical as the Volt 150/Bestway one that I sent you in the past.
Actually, the Jotis label was from Bestway as well, with typesetting from the former Co-Service Printing. Besides, it looks like that particular pressing was vinyl (Bestway occasionally pressed in vinyl as well as styrene). But Shelley began pressing for Atlantic/Atco around 1967-68 (continuing to about 1979). The typesetting as seen here . . . . . . consisted of 12 point Varitype Gothic Extra Bold Condensed for the catalogue number, title and artist; 8 point Varitype News Gothic Bold Condensed for the matrix number, publisher, and songwriting credits; and 7(?) point Varitype Gill Medium for the recording info. These fonts were used by them from c.1966-67 through 1972, after which they switched to IBM typesetting (Univers with Bold in various sizes and 6 point Classified News Bold).
Sign number 1 can be found in both Jotis 45's. I was told by Frank Tabino that both signs were indicate the Shelly pressing plant. Number 2 can be found in the Atlantic 45. Did Shelly had printing facilities? What are the smaller fonts type? Rene
At the time of the Jotis releases, Shelley's identifying insignia was a big raised "X" on the dead wax, and all 45 pressings were styrene, whereas the Jotis pressings were vinyl, from what I saw. The "circle S" (shown backwards usually) first showed up on the dead wax of Shelley pressings around late 1968. And after 1964 or thereabouts, Shelley had their own typesetting (prior to that, labels used by them had typesetting from outside sources such as Co-Service Printing Co., Queens Litho and Brooklyn, NY-based Progressive Label Co.). Look at pressings on Liberty and subsidiary labels (i.e. Imperial, Dolton, World Pacific) from 1964-66, compare them to post-1967 pressings, and there was a big difference. Again, the small type (whereby, on Atlantic 2574, the recording data was given) was 7 point Gill Medium. But it seems that Shelley and Bestway were backups for Specialty, given that all shared the single-digit code numbers (1, 2, etc.).
W.B., you are right : the Jotis 45's are vinyl and the Atlantic one is styrene. Also, the S inside the circle is backwards. I took a closer look at the "strawberry" sign and came to the conclusion that the S might be a 5 but it's hard to tell as the sign is very small. What other pressing plant can that be? By the way do you know when Monarch started pressing styrene? Rene
I wonder if there was a pressing plant with the name Strawberry. Oh well . . . I think it was around 1959-60 that (from my observations) the earliest styrene Monarch 45's came out. Maybe earlier.
Here is an Atlantic album scan. What are the fonts on this one? Who pressed this one? F.y.i. : the following can be read in the dead wax : Side1: A-12418-AA MR RH AT LW ^ 9438-X W (the MR was stripped out and replaced by RH) Side2: 12417-2S and opposite the matrix number the letter "H". This were all machine stamped. Any idea? When Monarch pressed styrene did they also pressed vinyl at the same time? Rene
Here's the lowdown: Monarch pressed styrene 45's and vinyl LP's. The fonts on that label are from the same company that made label copy artwork for Monarch as per your prior examples (probably Alco Research, but I'm not sure). In any event, the typeface on this was Caledonia (a font used for the text in articles in Newsweek magazine from the 1950's through the late 1970's, as well as for text type in Billboard in the 1950's). The bold font of this typeface was used for title, artist, catalogue number and "STEREO" designation of 1973 A&M 45's pressed by Monarch.
Here is a MGM Stax154 scan. What are the fonts type of the vocal+matrix number/catnr+pub+time. Any idea who pressed the Atlantic 8129? Rene
First off, the fonts on the label (apparently late 1964, based on the matrix number) all came from Queens Litho, which did Atlantic/Atco etc., label copy typesetting from 1948 through 1965 and again briefly in 1967. The small text font was 6 point Linotype Trade Gothic Condensed with Bold Condensed (a.k.a. Gothic No. 18 with Gothic No. 20), in use by Queens since 1955 (it replaced 6 point Intertype Futura Bold Condensed which was somewhat harder to read in comparison). The catalogue number and artist were set in 10 point Vogue Heavy, and the song title in 12 point Vogue Heavy. The songwriter names were in 8 point Intertype Futura Medium, which as used by Queens was in combo with Futura Demi Bold. The disappearance of these collections of fonts from Atlantic and subsidiary releases coincided with the label's switch from MGM to Specialty for pressing of 45's and Presswell for pressing of LP's. As for that Atlantic 8129 LP: Based on the indented center ring in the label area, it could have come from RCA Victor's Hollywood pressing plant for the purposes of its record club, which handled Atlantic as amongst its clients. (The "12417-2S" and "H" designations on the dead wax of Side 1 are a dead clue.) Moreover, the Atlantic logo as on the right suggests that this was a 1967 pressing. However, I also noticed that the paper stock appears uncoated - and RCA usually used coated stock for its pressings of LP's for Record Club clients. Plus sometimes using mid-'60's "Atco" color schemes for its "Atlantic" labels!
W.B., Attached some scans. First 2 : title + writers scans of Stax140 (August1963), MGM. Are the fonts type Futura for the songwriters? Did Queens use both type at the same time for the songwriters? Scan 3 ; Any idea for this unusual Satellite logo from Monarch? What are the fonts type on that one? Scan 4 : Erwin E77. No date known of this one. Most likely from Plastic Products. what are the fonts type on this one?
In the first place, the songwriters' type (from Queens) on Stax 140 - on both sides - is indeed set in Intertype Futura Medium. Queens had alternated between that and 8 point Vogue Bold (as in combo with Heavy) on releases over the years. As for the "Satellite" type on . . . . . . that's Metro Bold, a Linotype font. Probably 24 point. Used on a few Monarch pressings. In short, that's no logo. Now I wouldn't know, but it looks like a post-1962 pressing, given the use of 12 point Intertype Franklin Gothic for the song title and artist name - and I didn't see that font on label copy type for Monarch until c.1962-3. Now, the small text type is 6 point Vogue Bold (spacing indicating a combo with Heavy), the artist and catalogue number 10 point Vogue Heavy, and song title 12 point Vogue Bold Condensed. In short, Plastic Products type through and through.
W.B., Attached is a second version of Satellite 107. What are the fonts type on that one? Any idea about the pressing as well as the label printing plant? The second scan is the usual Satellite (mid 1961) label from Monarch. I think is the same as Stax129 as far as font type concerned (Spartan Heavy + Gothic 18). The title on this one as well on Stax129 has an unusual spacing. Do you know the reason for that? Talking about spacing can you explain how the spacing with Vogue Bold is in combo with Vogue heavy? Rene
In response to the last question: There is more open spacing on the examples of Vogue Bold you've been showing, meaning each letter has farther "kerning" than when Vogue Bold is combined with Oblique (a version of italic), as on Specialty pressings. Now, as for labels: They all were printed by the same company. I can't for the life of me figure out which printing firm had all those fonts - maybe Alco Research? Labels with these fonts were not only on Monarch pressings, but also pressings from Rainbo (the ones with "R-####" on the dead wax). As for the "second" version of Satellite 107: It appears more to be the first, as they used 11(?) point Spartan Heavy for the title and artist rather than 12 point Franklin Gothic. Ditto for the label with the design. The one with the logo design, had the title and artist in 12 point Spartan Heavy. And the way the design was laid out, seemed to pave the way for the Volt label design (after Satellite was renamed Stax). The first label (on top) had the 45 RPM in 10 point Trade Gothic Condensed (a.k.a. Gothic No. 18) while the catalogue number was in 10 point Trade Gothic Bold Condensed (a.k.a. Gothic No. 20). On the other hand, the label with the logo design had the catalogue number in 10 point Spartan Heavy. As to the spacing of the title: It appeared to be the printer's S.O.P. at the time, as they did this with other clients.
