Factory Records

Mask and Holiday Card [Christmas gift 1979]

Manchester, England / Cleveland, Ohio: December 1979. Gift: 6 1⁄2 x 4 in., Card: 5 1⁄4 x 6 1⁄4 in. Envelope: 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄4 in. Holograph salutation. Item #5153

The Factory Records 1979 Christmas gift was even more unorthodox than usual, containing two defensive objects. The first was earplugs enclosed in a small red box, a reference to the Factory ’s, “Use Hearing Protection ” slogan . The second gift was far more elaborate and unusual: a metal and cloth breathing mask. Sealed in a plastic bag and stapled to a piece of white card stock, the mask also bears a sticker that reads: “A Factory Product – for your protection ; xmas ‘79/80”. Accompanying the gift was a pink Christmas card featuring an altered “WANTED ” poster for the English spies Burgess & Maclean . A handwritten inscription in blue marker reads : “Larry , Seasonal Cheers , The Factory.”

This rare piece of Factory ephemera belonged to Cleveland-area DJ and promoter, Larry Ottoway. All the gifts come enclosed in the original padded envelope, stamped, postmarked, and addressed to Ottoway.

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