At the bottom right corner of Columbia back covers is usually a numeric code:
WB (quoting Bruce Spitzer) , BeatleFan, Perry Cox, these identify the following LP cover manufacturers:
2 Imperial Paper Box Corp., Inc. of Brooklyn, NY .
3 Modern Album of Long Island, NY
4 Imperial Packing Co., Inc. of Indianapolis, IN
5 Modern Album of Terre Haute, IN > Los Angeles
6 Imperial Packing Co., Inc. of Indianapolis, IN > LA or Winchester
7 Columbia 1969 (original or subsidiary label)
8 Decca? c. 1966
9 Modern Album of Terre Haute, IN > Jacksonville, IL
Source: WB on Hoffman thread
.There is a 1 code missing from the list ( pictured below).
We know KoB promo was pressed in 1959, the jacket manufacturers are local to the plant, we know: 2. Imperial Paper Box Corp, Brooklyn NY; 4. Imperial Packing Indianapolis, 6. Imperial Packing when supplying West Coast pressing plants.
I have an 8 on a 1963 release and it’s confirmed that its a 1963 release because it has the black font “360 Sound Stereo” across the bottom of the label. This may mean the 8 isn’t Decca if its ca 1966. Any thoughts?
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It’s also a Santa Maria pressing if that helps . . .
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It always seemed odd to me that Columbia’s West Coast pressings should have jackets manufactured and shipped from Indiana. (Imperial, 6) . The missing link suggests a West Coast cover fabricator (unknown), and (8) looks a likely candidate, based on your Santa Maria provenance. Much of our knowledge is borrowed from hard-core archivists of Beatles and Rolling Stones and such like, and there are few corroborating sources. This one hasn’t shown up so far.
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