after WWII, columbia records came up with a new format, the long-playing record, and alex was given the task of creating a protective jacket for this new LP. before the 1940s recorded music was sold in plain packaging, often in thick books (hence the name album) with the titles merely written on the binding. alex became the first art director for columbia in 1939 -- and it was here that he introduced album art as we know it today. between 1939 and 1973 when he retired, he designed roughly 2500 covers.
mr. steinweiss just passed away on 18 july 2011. thanks to NPR's all things considered for introducing me to this interesting man who is such a part of music history, and to wikipedia for filling in the details.
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