The record company I'm in charge of here is very different from today's Nonesuch / Warner. Founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman (born in 1931, Holzman had already founded Elektra Records in 1950), Nonesuch had as its purpose the promotion of classical music through the sale of a rich catalog of LPs offered at low prices (it was to be equated with that of a paperback book).

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Obviously, to maintain this price standard, Nonesuch could not record new productions in the studio and therefore Holzman chose to apply for publishing licenses - exclusively for the USA and Canada - of many productions already made by some small, but important, houses. European record companies, which - in turn - had chosen to record mainly Baroque repertoire.
Among the record companies chosen, Le Club Français du Disque in Paris stands out, from which Holzman reproposed over 60% of the catalog.
Other record companies involved were like Philharmonia Records (USA); Angelicum (Italy), IBC, Pye and Unicorn (Great Britain); Pelca and Eurodisc (Germany), Cycnus, Belvedere, Résonance, Charlin and Critère (France)
and Tono (Switzerland).​ The artistic direction of Nonesuch was entrusted to the enterprising Teresa (Tracey) Sterne (1927-2000), pianist and excellent manager. After abandoning her musical career, the pianist found a job at the music agency of Sol (Solomon) Hurok and there she had the opportunity to meet many musicians and to take care of their careers.

The record company I'm in charge of here is very different from today's Nonesuch / Warner.  Founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman (born in 1931, Holzman had already founded Elektra Records in 1950), Nonesuch had as its purpose the promotion of classical music through the sale of a rich catalog of LPs offered at low prices (it was to be equated with that of a paperback book).

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Obviously, to maintain this price standard, Nonesuch could not record new productions in the studio and therefore Holzman chose to apply for publishing licenses - exclusively for the USA and Canada - of many productions already made by some small,

but important, houses. European record companies, which - in turn - had chosen to record mainly Baroque repertoire. Among the record companies chosen, Le Club Français du Disque in Paris stands out, from which Holzman reproposed over 60% of the catalog. Other record companies involved were like Philharmonia Records (USA); Angelicum (Italy), IBC, Pye and Unicorn (Great Britain); Pelca and Eurodisc (Germany), Cycnus, Belvedere, Résonance, Charlin and Critère (France) and Tono (Switzerland).

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The artistic direction of Nonesuch was entrusted to the enterprising Teresa (Tracey) Sterne (1927-2000), pianist and excellent manager. After abandoning her musical career, the pianist found a job at the music agency of Sol (Solomon) Hurok and there she had the opportunity to meet many musicians and to take care of their careers. She later moved on to Columbia Records and Vanguard, until she hired her to Elektra for the creation of Nonesuch Records, the first woman in America to take up a management position of this importance. Teresa Sterne had the task of selecting - together with the famous musicologist, harpsichordist and conductor Joshua Rifkin - the rarest and most deserving repertoire to be included in the Nonesuch catalog. Teresa Sterne's experience from 1964 to 1979 was so important that she independently produced some etchings specifically for Nonesuch, involving Morton Subotnik, John Cage, George Crumb, Charles Wuorinen, Lukas Foss, William Bolcom and Elliott Carter for some premieres. world recordings of their compositions.

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Nonesuch changed ownership in 1979, becoming part of ex-Warner Bros Records. Teresa Sterne was inexplicably fired (the new owners chose the founder's brother, Keith Holzman in her place, to be replaced in 1984 by Robert (Bob) Hurwitz, head of the US division of Warner Bros. Records. But this is a other story that is out of the scope of this web page.

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The dismissal of Teresa Sterne caused a real riot in the American musical world: over 20 great American composers wrote letters to the major newspapers outraged by the bad treatment reserved for the talented artistic director of Nonesuch.

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Entering more specifically into the graphic merit of Nonesuch, we should remember first of all the art director William S. (Stanley) Harvey (1920-1993), who joined Elektra as early as 1958 and created logos with the names of bands under contract, like Love, Doors and Bread. He also created the new Elektra logo (the famous 'butterfly') and the 'N' with 'Nonesuch' written on it that we all know well. Harvey entrusted some of the most popular American illustrators of those years with the creation of the artwork for the Nonesuch covers. Some short biographies have been found, others (unfortunately) have fallen into a sad silence.

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Roger T. Hane (1939-1974) was an illustrator of paperback books, advertising campaigns and record albums. One of the most famous and beloved American illustrators, he was known for his surreal and imaginative art (his are the illustrations for The Chronicles of Narnia). During his eleven-year professional career, Hane produced over three hundred illustrations. Full of career and full of prestigious academic awards, Hane tragically died in New York at the age of 36 following a robbery and beating in Central Park.

Michael C. Gross (1945-2015) was a very active designer (and film producer). From 1970 to 1974 he directed National Lampoon magazine and later co-managed his own design company. In 1980 he began working in Hollywood, and is perhaps best remembered for designing the logo for the film Ghostbusters, which was one of 11 films he was also a producer and executive producer of. In 1974 he created Pellegrini, Kaestle, & Gross, Inc .; he became John Lennon's personal designer and consultant for the Muppets series. In the late 1970s he ran Esquire magazine and was also director of design for Mobil Oil. In 1995 Gross left Hollywood and returned to his primary vocation, painting, moving to Italy. Struck by a severe form of cancer, he disappears at the age of 70 in Oceanside, California.

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I'm not entirely sure if portrait painter Peter Schaumann (originally from Pennsylvania) is the same designer who worked for Nonesuch. The painter Schaumann (but is he still alive? No serious biographical information can be found on Google) had graduated from Philadelphia College of Art and was a student in the faculties of Philadelphia College of Art and Moore College of Art and Design. After a brilliant career as an illustrator in New York, where he received numerous honors and awards, he devoted himself to art, figure painting and portraiture. His works have appeared in many American galleries.

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Same 'mystery' for Gordon Kibbee, well-known American illustrator for children (his is one of the best-selling illustrated books in America, The Night The Moon Went Dark), of which an Instagram post from 2012 is visible and where the artist it already appears older with age.

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Edward Sorel (born Edward Schwartz in 1929) was born and raised in the Bronx, the son of Jewish immigrants. He was an illustrator, caricaturist, cartoonist and graphic designer. Politically exposed in an open way, promulgator of the most inclusive and liberal ideas of the left, he made his criticism of right-wing reactionary politics and organized religion his banner. For years a contributor to The Nation, New York Magazine and The Atlantic, he was hailed by the New York Times as "one of America's foremost political satirists". As a New Yorker, much of his work is focused on life, culture and political events in New York City. Sorel is known for his pen and ink wavy style, which he describes as "spontaneous direct drawing". In 1956 Sorel became a freelance for the satirical magazine The Realist, he subsequently made covers for the first issues of National Lampoon. In addition to his prestigious work for Vanity Fair, Sorel has designed covers for Harper's Magazine, Fortune, Forbes, Esquire, Time, American Heritage and Atlantic Monthly. 

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Robert (Bob) Pepper (1938-2019) was an American illustrator active between the 60s and 80s; whose work included record and paperback book covers, greeting cards, magazine illustrations. From the mid-sixties to the early seventies Pepper created covers for about fifty RCA and Elektra Records publications, including Nonesuch and Checkmate. Probably his most famous work than him is the cover of the Love band's 1967 album Forever Changes (although the artwork was later modified by designer Bill Harvey).

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We also have virtually no news of William (Bill) Hoffman (1924-1995). Assuming it is the painter who was born in Montana, I only know the auctions with some of his paintings of an American nature. This painter seems to have been a self-taught artist who discovered his artistic vocation only in old age. He decided to pursue a career after visiting an art gallery for the first time. That this is enough to be an active designer for Nonesuch, I really don't know: but it is evident that his paintings and his work as an illustrator are very different from each other.

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Abe Gurvin (1937-2012) was one of the most prolific painter and graphic artists of the 'psychedelic' movement and has designed album covers for artists Janis Joplin, The Zodiac, Federal Duck and Bread. his Sci-Tech, Food and Kidstuff collection included brightly colored hand illustrations made for an unreleased storybook project called Hope Ann's I Am Being Me. He was a member of the board of directors of SILA (Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles) and he was responsible for the invention of the font (among the most used by Nonesuch) that stands out on the album A Nonesuch Christmas.

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I hope I have aroused your attention, and I ask for help in obtaining more detailed and detailed news of the artists who have worked for Nonesuch (John Trotta, Robert Deschamps, Sergio Leone, Gordon Kibbee, Bill Hoffman).

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Thank you.