Traffic – John Barleycorn Must Die album art
United Artists Records, USA (1970).
If trendlist.org had been around in the 1970s, it might have had tags and trends like “revival”, “1900s style” and “pre-war printshop”, featuring this album cover for Traffic’s John Barleycorn Must Die. From subject and music genre to illustrations (advertising and printing stereotypes) and typefaces, everything about this album is a 1970s perspective on the late 19th, early 20th century.
The title and band name on the cover are set in a shaded variant of Rustic, an organic looking all caps typeface with shapes that mimic tree branches. The origins of Rustic are not entirely clear and nowadays it can be found under many names, with and without shadow.
The roman is a phototype version of Weiß-Antiqua, which is internationally better known as Weiss, or Weiss Roman. The design has been revisited and released under different names in the digital age. Messer is a recent reinterpretation by Inga Plönnigs, released through Future Fonts.
Back cover from a French release, set in Weiss.
![The US release by United Artists Records had the front cover design on a background consisting of a photograph of burlap. The original UK by Island Records release featured a grey background. [Discogs]](https://assets.fontsinuse.com/static/use-media-items/69/68893/full-999x994/606cbf14/JohnDie-e1431226005909.jpeg)
The US release by United Artists Records had the front cover design on a background consisting of a photograph of burlap. The original UK by Island Records release featured a grey background. [Discogs]
Back cover, United Artists Records
A color photograph of the band inside the gatefold cover.
Detail
