Publicity for Editions Francis Salabert by Roger de Valerio on the back of a 1924 sheet music album.
Publishers often use the back cover of sheet music to make their own publicity. But on this last page they also promote their music catalogue or the next hits. We have tried to bring together the different approaches to these catalogue advertisements. Our selection has become a long list, take your time and browse at your ease. But don’t hesitate to click here and there: some advertisements are precious gems in all their details… Feast your eyes!
Example of a back cover with publicity for the music catalogue. Here illustrator Gilbàs uses modernistic typography to create a dynamic and attractive layout for the Mascheroni music catalogue (Milano, ca. 1925).Two back covers in Art Nouveau style showing the readers the first bars of the songs. Illustrated by Ricardo Barabandy (left) and H. Viollet (right) ca. 1900. Click images to enlarge.Two illustrated catalogues for publisher Lemoine in Paris. The symbolist ornaments and foliage pattern on the left is from Eugène Grasset, the one on the right with thistles and lyre is from Adolphe Giraldon (ca. 1900). Have a look at the title of the first work of Emile Pessard in the right catalogue. Circassian beauties really must have fascinated more than one composer!Late 19th-century illustrated catalogues. These are from the back covers of sheet music published by Alfred Michow (Berlin, on the left) and Au Métronome (Paris, on the right).Left: the German illustrator detailed a very narrative view of the catalogue of his client. On the right, the music catalogue (Costallat) is inventively shown as sheet music richly decorating the walls of a bourgeois interior. Two ladies of the house prepare themselves at the piano, setting the tone for a cosy atmosphere. Both illustrator and printer achieved an amazing level of detail!On both back covers,musicians are supposed to enliven the advertised catalogue. On the left, a ballroom illustration for Bosworth & Co by P. Schumann (s.d.). Right, a fine Barcelonese jester drawn by J. Vals (1925).Decorated back covers for publishers Maillochon in Paris (illustrated in Art Deco style by Choppy, on the left) and Stöppler in Wiesbaden (on the right, with a butterfly fairy drawn by the Australian children book illustrator Ida Rentoul Outhwaite).Also the Italian publisher Carisch and the French Max Eschig used to promote new songs on their back covers. On the left, a lively jazzband drawn by Ruolinari (s.d.), on the right another jazzband with stereotyped black musicians (illustrator and date unknown).More back covers with a musical theme to ornate the music catalogue. Left, sheet music from Roehr Edition (unknown illustrator) and, right, publicity for Charles Brüll (illustrated by H. Michaelis, s.d.).Plagiarism? Two very similar Austrian back covers, both using the caricature of a master of ceremony. Figaro Verlag on the left, and Wiener Excelsior Verlag on the right (unsigned, s.d.).Two cheerful back covers illustrated by cartoonist Pol Rab, for publishers Pêle-Mêle (left) and Maillochon (right).On both these back covers women in festive dress are charming us into buying the music catalogues of publishers Jack Mills (left, illustrated by the Starmer brothers) and Les Editions du Music-Hall (right, illustrated by Pol Rab).Two similar announcements of the latest hits on the back covers of Edizioni Curci (on the left, unknown illustrator) and UFATON Verlag (right, illustrated by Herzig, s.d.).Both these accordeon music publishers in the North of France (Candson and Marceau) keep their advertisement rather simple with a typed list of titles.For these back covers the illustrators Bonfanti on the left, and Cerutti on the right, chose for a swinging layout and a dynamic photo montage to advertise the musical successes of Carisch and Salabert respectively.Arturo Bonfanti is too much of an artist not to find creative solutions for promoting the music catalogue of his client (Carish, 1928 and 1930).We close this post about ‘the other side of sheet music’ with two more of Bonfanti’s merry and inventive illustrations for the back covers of Carisch & Jänischen (1929).Detail on the back cover catalogue for publisher Aromando (Milano). Illustrated by Sandro Properzi (s.d.).
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