In the early 1990s a renewed spirit of cooperation and do-it-yourself initiative took hold of the North American punk and hardcore scenes. This DIY approach didn’t stop at booking your own tours and self-releasing records; it involved putting together the very packaging for those records. Hand-gluing sleeves, silk-screening manila envelopes and raiding thrift stores for LP jackets that could be re-used became the norm.

From there it was only a matter of time before anything could be used as a record cover: aluminum foil, burlap, vintage wallpaper, cereal boxes, tar paper. Anything and everything was up for grabs, especially as economies of bartering became more and more adventurous. DIY Album Art: Paper Bags and Office Supplies documents the innovative handmade packaging developed by labels such as Gravity, Bloodlink, File 13, Arcade Kacha, Tree, Donut Friends, Repercussion and Vermin Scum.

Culled from the personal collection of author-designer J. Namdev Hardisty, the albums featured in DIY Album Art laid the groundwork for a look copied today by major labels.

Great presentation of DIY album covers. The book’s design strikes just the right chord for the nature of the contents.