Sold Date: September 17, 2023
Start Date: September 10, 2023
Final Price: $4,200.00 (USD)
Bid Count: 33
Seller Feedback: 209
Buyer Feedback: 17896

CASABLANCA RECORDS PROMOTIONAL SET FROM CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL, LOS ANGELES FEBRUARY 18, 1974 LAUNCH PARTY CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF THE “KISS” DEBUT ALBUM

CASABLANCA RECORDS PROMO PRESENTATION SET (1974)

PROMOTIONAL FACTORY SEALED COPY OF THE “KISS” DEBUT ALBUM

1st PRINT COVER EXCLUDING THE “KISSIN’ TIME” TRACK

1st RUN BLUE-DARK GREY “BOGART” SMOKING MAN CASABLANCA LABEL DESIGN

ORIGINAL “CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL” GOLD-FOIL STICKER

ORIGINAL “PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE” PINK ROUND SEAL STICKER

ORIGINAL VINTAGE “HUMPHREY BOGART” PROMO T-SHIRT WITH THE CASABLANCA RECORDS LOGO

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED “®” SYMBOL BELOW THE “CASABLANCA” LOGO ON THE T-SHIRT IMAGE

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

~ Before placing a bid, please make sure to attentively read our updated international shipping policy ~          

Up for an auction is the original Casablanca Records promotional set which was a part of the large collection dedicated to the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California where the collection’s owner worked in the 1970s. We’re sure that he was the participant of the event that took place on February 18, 1974. And by this event we’re talking about the historical party organized by Neil Bogart, the CEO of Casablanca Records. The purpose of spending more than $45,000 on the launch party was to celebrate the West Coast release of “Kiss” and to introduce Casablanca Records to the press and other record industry executives. Original factory sealed promotional copy of Kiss’ 1st album and original vintage T-shirt with an image of Humphrey Bogart and “Casablanca” logo were most likely used at the party as the promotional merch. In our opinion, several details of this set deserve special attention. The back cover of the album contains a gold-foil “Century Plaza Hotel” sticker with the hotel’s image. It’s hard to tell whether it was affixed specifically for the event or it was done by someone from the hotel’s staff. For the most part, it doesn’t matter much because in any case, it’s a part of history. The second interesting detail that drew our attention is the “®” symbol below the “Casablanca” logo on the original T-shirt. You won’t find this symbol on the modern T-shirts containing this image currently offered by several online companies. There are no reasons at all to doubt that this original vintage T-shirt was ordered for the employees of Casablanca Records or specifically for the event’s staff. The image on the T-shirt is also unique due to the fact that it combines the portrait of actor Humphrey Bogart and Casablanca Records logo. Neil Bogatz had the opportunity to adopt the last name of his favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart, but didn’t have the rights to use his image. Even the 1st style blue Casablanca Records labels depict just a smoking man instead of the actor’s image. The rights to use Rick’s image (the character played by Bogart in “Casablanca”), belonged to Warner Bros. which didn’t have legal objections against Bogatz using the film’s logo. It was quite risky to be combining the portrait of Humphrey Bogart and Casablanca Records logo into a single image for the Century Plaza Hotel party which had a live Kiss show. But knowing the personality of Neil Bogatz, it could be assumed that he would still do it. It isn’t a coincidence that Gene Simmons considers Bogatz “one of the last great showmen”. We truly hope that we’ve correctly authenticated these two items from the Century Plaza Hotel collection connecting them to the Casablanca Records launch party occurred on February 18, 1974 in Los Angeles.

★

The factory sealed promotional copy is in stunning Mint condition. The original T-shirt is in great vintage condition. Its size is Small and the exact measurements are as follows: chest - 16.5"; length - 24".

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

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FOR INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS' CONSIDERATION

Due to the high risks involved when it comes international shipping, we’ve recently stopped sending our items with USPS First-Class Mail International and now use only USPS Priority Mail International Express. However, if your order exceeds the amount of $5000, we’ll have to ship the package with FedEx as oppose to USPS.

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