Victor “For Victory” war-bonds sleeve · Pre-war and wartime record sleeves up to 1945

Victor Records “For Victory: Buy United States War Bonds and Stamps”

An American RCA Victor sleeve from the Second World War, with war-bond slogans on the front and wartime ceiling prices on the back.

Dating at a glance

Printed: c. 1943 – 1945
In use: The war years; possibly into 1946
Confidence: Medium-high
Basis: The company name in the footer, the war-bond slogans and the ceiling-price table

The sleeve

Orange-brown paper with a dark centre band. The front reads VICTOR RECORDS and The World’s Greatest Artists are on Victor Records, over the “His Master’s Voice” dog and gramophone (Trade Mark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off.). On either side is a minuteman figure with the slogan:

FOR VICTORY
BUY UNITED STATES WAR BONDS AND STAMPS

The back is headed THE WORLD’S GREATEST ARTISTS ARE ON VICTOR RECORDS and lists albums and records under headings such as Superb Symphonies, The World’s Premier Pianists, Masterpieces of Opera and The Songs America Loves. A table is headed Ceiling Prices in Continental United States of Victor Records, Exclusive of Federal, State and Local Taxes, with prices by label colour (Black Label, Red Seal, Blue, Green and Purple Label). The footer reads RCA VICTOR DIVISION · RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA · CAMDEN, N.J., U.S.A. and PRINTED IN U.S.A.. A small form number at bottom left is not legible in the photograph.

There is a handwritten “V” and a number, apparently 25473, at bottom left of the front.

Orange and dark brown Victor Records sleeve front with the His Master’s Voice trade mark and minuteman figures beside the words For Victory, Buy United States War Bonds and Stamps. — Front. Select the image for a larger view.

Brown Victor sleeve back listing classical albums and a table of ceiling prices, with an RCA Victor Division footer. — Back: album lists and ceiling prices.

The evidence

Documented“RCA Victor Division”. The Library of Congress name authority record says RCA Manufacturing Company became the RCA Victor Division of Radio Corporation of America in 1942. A sleeve with this footer is unlikely to be earlier.
InferredWar bonds. “War Bonds” is the wartime name for the US savings bonds sold after the United States entered the war at the end of 1941, so the slogan belongs to 1942–45. This is general knowledge, not separately sourced here.
InferredCeiling prices were wartime price controls in the United States. Printing them on the sleeve fits the war years and the period of control just after. Not separately sourced here.
InferredSo, about 1943–1945. The company name gives the lower limit; the war-bond slogan makes printing after 1945 unlikely.

Sources

Library of Congress name authority, RCA-Victor Company (company history note): https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n81120296.html

What we could not find

The form number at the foot of the back, which may carry a print code. A close photograph would help.
Release dates for the albums listed on the back, which would narrow the year.

Researched 12 November 2026 from Simon’s photographs of that evening.