Philips World Series logo
Piano Trios Complete, Philips PHC 2-013, 1968
In the mid 1960s, Philips Records started a new label dedicated to classical music from around the world and named it World Series. The logo has a pictorial part with a charming illustration of a round bearded face shown (mirrored?) inside an old-fashioned globe, framed by a box with rounded corners. It’s enclosed by the two words of the name set in caps from Binner. On the record covers, the words sit to the left and right. On the record labels, they are placed above and below the image. This post gathers details from the top of a number of album covers, depicting the characteristic color palette.
The dates on Discogs range from 1964* to 1973 (with many records being undated), but they have to be taken with a grain of salt. The World Series isn’t mentioned in the Philips LP catalog from 1964 or their Complete Record Catalog from August 1965. I reckon that the series was started in late 1965 or 1966. A catalog from February 1968 lists 88 records – from Albinoni to Vivaldi – published in this “special series of recordings from the PHILIPS international catalog dedicated to the finest quality product at a popular price”.
*) The record dated to 1964 on Discogs is mentioned in a Billboard issue from February 1967.
I haven’t been able to find out the designer. The illustration style suggests John Alcorn to me. Alcorn did use Binner on various other occasions.
Les Pecheurs De Perles, Philips PHC 2-016, 1969
24 Preludes For Piano, Philips PHC 2-006, 1967
Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Opus 60, Philips PHC 9008, 1966
Comiques Concertos, Philips PHC 9012, 1966
Piano Concerto No. 2 (In G Major, Op. 44), Philips PHC 9007, 1966
Concerto No. 3 / Violin Concerto No. 5, Philips PHC 9109, 1966
El Amor Brujo / Falla The Three Cornered Hat, Philips PHC 9054, 1967
1 Comment on “Philips World Series logo”
Further evidence for the c.1966 date:
Billboard from 8 October 1966 had an ad that described the World Series as “a brand-new budget line in the Philips tradition” in which 24 albums had been released to that date.