A very small run of 3,000 copies. Santa’s Past Masters mirrors the original CD Past Masters Vol. 1. Tracks from Vol. 2 had already appeared (mostly) on the label’s Hey Jude compilation. The sleeve and label don’t name a manufacturer, but the pressing was done at the Riga plant.

Cover Art Comparison

The Beatles’ logo font is different, yet similar to the original one.

The Gatefold

The “gatefold” is a collage of early-1960s band photos—uniform size, high quality, not magazine clippings.

The photos’ source

While researching this cover, the author traced the images to a set found in Paraguay: Topps Chewing Gum collector inserts issued in the U.S. in 1964–65. The first series had 60 black-and-white cards sold for five cents per pack; Sy Berger designed the cards, with 399 in total across the sets.

Trifonov says he had collected these inserts for over 25 years and wanted the gatefold crammed with gum-card photos. He’d gathered about 40 since starting in 1968 — buying singles or small lots whenever they surfaced — and preferred “overpaying to have it” rather than regretting a missed find.

Kibalchich learned the Riga plant didn’t make gatefold sleeves, so they printed a paper insert instead.

Back cover

Labels

The labels — unusual for Antrop/Santa — show musician silhouettes, and the full track list appears only on side B.

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© 2024, Artur Netsvetaev. Interviews with Nikolai Kibalchich & Yuri Trifonov.