45-SLEEVES - HOME
Revised 25/6/14

OPERA
DE Labels and Company Sleeves 1956-1964

Labels
4115 - 1956
to
4409
4140 - 1956
4141 - 1956
4 4140
Germany had quite a few Record Clubs, the most famous being Bertelsmann. The members could buy for lower prices special releases. Where Bertelsmann could sell big names with actual titles through their Ariola connections, the other Record Clubs had either big names (mostly it bit dated and from the jazz field) with obscure releases or popular releases by cover orchestras / artists.
Such was also the case with Opera, Europäische Phonoklub from Stuttgart. 
The company sleeves were stitched and made of thick paper or even thin cardboard. They existed in 3 designs and in several colours.
The numbering starts with 4101 somewhere in the mid 50s and continued at least 4423.
The labels were yellow with either a thick or a thin "Europäische Phonoklub". It seems that later reissues had an extra 4 added. Opera issued only 45 rpm EPs (and a few LPs) some with inner triangle but most without.
For the final releases the picture sleeves were normal again.
4314
4743 - 1964
to
4 1642
41 159
to
.
4302
4295
to
4913
D.S.G. logo
2899
(4247)
D.S.G. logo
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Sleeves
Range
Front
Back
Details
No 1
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 a
.
to 
.
 Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 b
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 c
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 d
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 e
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 2 f
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  

 
No 2 g
.
to 
.
   Cut straight  Stitched left/right  
No 3
4400
to 
.
 
       
.......
Contact for corrections
...
Thanks to Johan Alberda, Berlin, Germany for scans in this section
....
Thanks to Karl-Heinz Decker, Germany for scans in this section
....
....