Record sleeve
Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 - 1989)
Category
Musical instruments, devices and recordings
Date
Sep 1975 - 10 Nov 1975
Materials
Cardboard record sleeve
Measurements
310 x 315 mm
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 672661.2
Summary
A cardboard sleeve for a vinyl record, the album Horses by Patti Smith. The front cover of the sleeve features a black and white photograph of Smith taken by her friend the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. She is wearing a white shirt and dark trousers, has a dark jacket slung over her left shoulder and a black ribbon around her neck. The sleeve was initially considered to present an androgynous image of Smith and executives at Arista Records, the label that released the album initially wanted the image changed, an instruction that was rejected by Smith. The rear of the sleeve has four head and shoulder portraits of the musicians appearing on the record across the top, from left to right: Richard Sohl, Lenny Kaye, Ivan Kral and Jay Dee Daugherty. These photographs were also taken by Mapplethorpe. Immediately below the photographs there is some printed text written by Patti Smith and a list of the song titles on the record. At the bottom of the rear of the sleeve there are printed details regarding the production and recording of the record. The catalogue number for the record (ARTY 122) is printed at the top right corner and the artists name, album title and catalogue number are all printed on the spine of the sleeve. Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer known for his black and white photographs including celebrity portraits, nudes and still life images.
Provenance
Cardboard sleeve for a vinyl record, the album Horses recorded by Patricia (Patti) Lee Smith and released by Arista Records on November 10th 1975 with sleeve photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe. Purchased by the National Trust Museum of Childhood via Discogs on 8th September 2020 as part of the Collecting Cultures Exploring Childhoods project.
Makers and roles
Robert Mapplethorpe (1946 - 1989), photographer Arista Records, record label