Is This Love: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a long-playing record of the album Bob Marley & the Wailers “Is This Love” with a signed sleeve (b). The record disc (a) has a round label with a graphic of a tree on the left hand side, against a background of a yellow and orange sunset over blue waves. At the top of the label is black text that reads “BOB MARLEY / & THE WAILERS.” The album sleeve (b) front has a white background with a sketch of Bob Marley in black ink in the center. Shown from the chest up, he wears a collared shirt open to the chest. His eyes are closed, and his chin is tilted up. Across the top margin is black text that reads “BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS.” In the bottom left corner is black text that reads “IS THIS LOVE.” There are band members’ autographs in red and blue ink surrounding the image of Bob Marley. Please see Signed Field for details. At the bottom center is small black text, possibly handwritten, that reads “King Records / J6 [illegible] Road / Kingston Jamaica.” The back of the album sleeve has a black background and a black and white photographic image of bob Marley performing. Shown from the waist up, he wears a long sleeve shirt and has a guitar slung across his left shoulder. He holds both his arms out to the sides and his head is turned to his right. There is a microphone in a stand in front of him. Along the top margin is white text that reads “BOB MARLEY& THE WAILERS / IS THIS LOVE / CRISIS.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1978
• Signed by: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jamaican, 1963 - 1981
• Published by: Island Records, Jamaican, founded 1959
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: a: vinyl
• Medium: b: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: Diameter (a): 7 in. (17.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b): 7 3/16 × 7 3/16 in. (18.3 × 18.3 cm)
• Place made: Kingston, Jamaica
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Reggae (Music)
• Topic: Rock and roll (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.102.5ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Island Records Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.