Polskie Nagrania Muza - logo and label variations, dating guide - part 1 (vinyl LPs)

There is much misinformation regarding vinyl records that were produced in Poland under the communist regime although many jazz and rock albums recorded and released in this country are popular with collectors worldwide. This, as far as I know, is the first attempt to put together a guide to identifying and dating of records released by the major Polish label Polskie Nagrania Muza from the early 1950s to the 1990s. Although this is a fruit of many years of record collecting and research, it is by no means conclusive and several details may require clarification.

Logos and catalog numbers on covers.

1. Mid 1950s to 1958

2. 1958-1967 (with or without 'Hi-Fi').

3. 1967-1969 (oval, with or without 'Hi-Fi')

4. 1969- late 1970 (with "SXL" catalog number for stereo)

5. late 1970-1973

6. 1973 (transitional, "SXL" catalog number only, with additional STEREO tag)

7. 1973-1975

8. 1975-1980

9. 1980-onwards

Catalog number prefixes.

L - 10" mono LP
XL - 12" mono LP (1956-1975)
STXL - early 12" stereo LP (1961-1963)
SXL - 12" stereo LP (second half of the 1960s-1975)
X - 12" mono LP (reissues) (1975- )
SX - 12" stereo LP (1975- )
MEL - 10" deluxe mono LP (short lived, early 1960s)
MEX - 12" deluxe mono LP (short lived, early 1960s)

Z- prefix indicates a contract pressing.
T- prefix indicates a test record (for equipment testing)

Prices (most often printed on the back cover - "cena" in Polish)

10" LPs:
30zł (1950s, "second category")
50zł (1950s-early 1971)
40zł (1971- )

12" LPs:
80zł (mono, 1950s-early 1971)*
110zł (stereo, 1963-early 1971)*
65zł (mono & stereo, early 1971-1977)
80zł (1977-1981)

Several titles licensed by Western labels and issued in Poland on the Muza label in the mid-1970s, such as two ABBA LPs, had higher prices than regular domestic LPs.

Pricing system started changing rapidly in the 1980s due to economic crisis and hyperinflation.

*Covers printed between 1969 and early 1971 often bear two prices: mono 80zł, stereo 110zł.

Label variations.

Polskie Nagrania started the production of long-playing microgroove records in the first half of the 1950s, most likely in 1953 or 1954. Only 10" LP records were produced until about 1956. 

1. Several different label designs were used from the beginning of production till 1955 (10" LP only, circa 1953-1955)

2. 1955-1958 New label design was introduced in 1955. It has many different color variations. They were all used more or less contemporaneously. This design was used until 1958 on both 12" and 10" LPs.

2A. Export version with text in English.

3. 1958-1959. Mostly yellow or red background with black lettering. 

4. 1959-1964. Mostly dark blue or black, rarely yellow or red.

4A. Early stereo label. 

4B. 1960s test pressing label.

4C. Several albums with classical and folk music in the early 1960s had special "deluxe" versions with better quality covers and vinyl pressed in Western Germany by Deutsche Grammophon or Telefunken-Decca. 

5. Dark blue labels were discontinued in 1964 and replaced by light blue color. Black labels continued to be used on records with classical music. This color scheme (light blue for "popular" music, black for classical) lasted until the beginning of the 1970s when things got more complicated. Light blue was the main label color until 1976. (1964-1976). It was around this period that the format of the matrix numbers located at 3 o'clock was changed: M-3 (mono 33rpm) and S-3 (stereo 33rpm) prefixes were added. 

5A. Some labels printed between 1966 and 1967 have a slightly larger margin of the circumferential text. (1966-1967)

5B. Stereo version. Very few titles were issued in stereo in Poland before 1968. 

6. Light red labels were introduced in the early 1970s and used contemporaneously with light blue color. Black labels temporarily discontinued in this period (light blue used on classical music records). This is not the same shade of red as in (7). Also, the "Polskie Nagrania Warszawa" writing is slightly bigger than on later issues.

7. Dark red labels were introduced in the mid-1970s. This is the most common label color on records pressed between 1975-1979. Shortly after the transition to SX catalog numbers for stereo LPs, the matrix numbers disappeared from the labels.

8. Black labels returned in the late 1970s. Many different color schemes were used in this period: black, yellow, orange, red. These do not indicate anything. Most likely they used whatever they had at hand. (1978-1981)

9. 1981-1983 Cream colored labels with dark blue text. 

10. New design introduced in 1983. Cream background with dark blue text. (1983-1990)

11. New label design introduced in late 1990-early 1991. Polskie Nagrania Muza closed their vinyl pressing plant in 1992. (1991-1992)

11A. Heavy metal LPs released in 1991-1992 had custom Metal Muza labels.

11B. There was also a jazz counterpart to the Metal Muza series but it appeared on only one album: "Stan Getz in Warsaw" (SX 3007).