These recordings feature artists' original illustrations embedded in the transparent vinyl on both sides of the 78 rpm record. Tom Saffady, a successful and prolific inventor, owned and managed Sav-Way Industries of Detroit, MI., which produced the recordings. They were released between May 1946 and April 1947. Only 74 titles are known to have been created on 10-inch Vogue picture discs.
The illustrations on each side of the record are usually related to the title of the song on that side. Illustrations were quite romantic in tone for love ballads, colorful and exotic for foreign-influenced music, and cartoonish for humorous songs, etc.
Vogue picture records were produced using a complicated process whereby a central core aluminum disc was sandwiched between the paper illustrations and vinyl. Saffady and his engineers spent several months working out the bugs that often resulted in torn or dislodged paper illustrations before perfecting the process. Tom Saffady died at 37 years of age (1954) following a battle with leukemia.
Please note, due to copyright some items may only be available as a 45 second snippet.
If you are a researcher or educator in need of full access to these recordings and additional materials (PDF, front/back covers, and record label scans), you can apply for Research Station Access
FAU Students, Faculty and Staff can listen to recordings and access additional materials unrestricted by clicking the Research Station icon located in the upper right corner of the website logging in using their FAU NET ID and password.
