German company sleeve
Imperial “line-graphic” sleeve, without the slogan
The Imperial company sleeve of the Lindström years, described from published examples.
Dating at a glance
- In use
- about 1937/38 – 1944
- Confidence
- High that this is the Imperial sleeve of 1938–44; the exact first year is less certain
- Basis
- Collectors’ photographs of the design holding dated 1938 and 1944 Imperial records
The design
Cream or buff paper with a blue diagonal grid, and “IMPERIAL” printed twice on the diagonal in large blue Art Deco capitals. It has no “The King of Records” slogan, which is the quickest way to tell it from the earlier Imperial sleeve.
We describe this design in words because the only photographs we have seen belong to other collectors and a dealer. Follow the source links to see them.
Photograph to be addedNo example from Simon’s collection has been photographed yet.
The evidence
- Observed1938. A collector on the grammophon-platten.de forum dates the design to the 1938 German recordings, with a photograph of Imperial 17235 (a K-C 27xxx recording) in this sleeve.
- Observed1944. The same design is shown in use on 1944 war pressings.
- ObservedThe slogan version came first. The “The King of Records” sleeve was used until about April or May 1937, and the slogan was dropped under Lindström.
- DocumentedCompany background. Imperial was relaunched in 1936 and came under Carl Lindström AG from 1937. It kept its own company sleeves.
- ObservedIt is the only Imperial company sleeve we found documented for 1938–44. The German dealer Phonopassion lists it as type “Imperial_10”.
Other Imperial sleeves, for telling them apart
- “The King of Records” sleeves: before about mid-1937.
- Airbrushed “Swing Serie” sleeves: 1936–37.
- A post-war diamond design: about 1950 onwards, outside this site’s period.
Sources
- grammophon-platten.de forum, Hüllen “Imperial” (thread 24078, 14 January 2014): https://grammophon-platten.de/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?24078=
- Phonopassion original sleeve list (type Imperial_10): https://phonopassion.de/index.php?key=coveroriginal_de
- musiktiteldb, Imperial list (matrix dating): http://www.musiktiteldb.de/Label/Imp_19.html
Uncertainty
The range comes from photographs of records in sleeves, which shows when the design turns up rather than when it was first or last printed. The changeover from the slogan sleeve in 1937 is approximate.
Researched 2 November 2026.