The Joy of 45 Collecting: Eye-Catching 45 Factory Sleeves

Record companies started using "factory sleeves" (also called "company sleeves") in the early 1950s as the 45 record format was beginning to take off. Over time, the sleeves came to represent more than just an advertisement for the record company, and record labels, small and big, almost competed to design the most eye-catching sleeves they could as a way of attracting customers' attention. Some companies redesigned their sleeves every few years, while others went years without changing their sleeves. By the 1970s, the artistic quality of sleeves began to decline, as labels like Columbia and Capitol toned down their designs to a minimalist style. Unlike 45 labels, some of the most interesting designs in the 1950s and 1960s arose from larger companies like Mercury, A&M, Brunswick and Capitol. This page provides a leisurely scroll through the label sleeves in roughly alphabetical order by company name.

Last Updated 03/29/22, this page shows 700 unique factory sleeves.