The Caroleers – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer album art
This Christmas LP had a few different covers over the years. “The Caroleers” was a generic name used for one or more groups released by Synthetic Plastics Company-owned novelty or budget labels like Diplomat Records.
The interlocking letters used for the title on (S)X 1011 and NXS 1011 are hand-lettered, and don’t use a typeface – note that none of the repeating letters is identical. In both versions, Filmotype Falcon is used for the group’s name. The Diplomat logo uses Filmotype Zephyr. The song titles are set in all caps from what appears to be News Gothic (white on red) and Futura Condensed (green on white).
In 1971, Diplomat released a different album under the same title (SX 1708), with a similar lettering style for the title. This time, the letters are not custom drawn, but come from a typeface: It’s Filmotype Newton, see the end of this post.
Diplomat Records, NXS 1011 (Stereo, 1959).
Detail with the band name in all-caps Filmotype Falcon.
Detail with the Diplomat logo in Filmotype Zephyr.
Diplomat Records, SX 1708 (1971). Illustration by George Peed. The band is here listed as “The Caroleer Singers and Orchestra”. The red and yellow letters are from Filmotype Newton, see the specimen below. This film typeface came with a number of alternates that could be inserted manually. On the record cover, the repeating letters are all identical. None of the interlocking alternates were used. The track list appears to be set in caps from Akzidenz-Grotesk.
Detail from an undated Filmomaster specimen (ca. early 1970s), showing Filmotype’s range of interlocking styles. To date, Filmotype Maxwell is the only one to be available in digital form.
1 Comment on “The Caroleers – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer album art”
Thanks Florian for the samples and info on Newton! I find it funny there were so many album sleeves for this release.