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A worn red spiral-bound notebook cover with a vertical elastic strap and black labels bearing white lettering.

400 × 397 px · JPEG · The full frame
Sain (Recordiau) Cyf. · CC BY-SA 3.0

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MUSIC ARTWORK / SAIN

Y Lyfr Coch (Casgliad)

Hergest

Boxed set artwork for Hergest, provided through the SAIN Records collection on Wikimedia Commons.

A CLOSER LOOK / 01

Inside the image.

A square image shows a worn red-orange notebook or album cover against a nearly black background. The cover fills most of the frame and sits slightly askew, its right edge receding a little. Black metal spiral binding runs down the left edge, with short loops and dark gaps visible against the red cover. A narrow grey elastic strap runs vertically near the right side, crossing the cover and passing over its top and bottom edges. Pale, irregular scuffs and rubbed patches break up the red surface, especially near the upper left, along the left edge, and across the lower half; fine scratches and mottled marks are scattered throughout. The cover has a thin, dark outline and softly rounded corners.

Two black label-like strips are arranged across the cover. Near the top, a long, slightly angled rectangle carries the widely spaced white capitals “HERGEST”. Near the lower right, a shorter horizontal strip reads “Y LLYFR COCH”; directly beneath it, a second, smaller black strip reads “(CASGLIAD)”. The lettering is white, uppercase, and simple, with the appearance of individually spaced characters. The lower labels sit partly behind the vertical elastic strap, which crosses close to their right ends. A thin strip of a lighter page or cover is visible beyond the right edge, with a few uneven grey and white layers protruding. The lighting brings out the rough, abraded surface while the surrounding background remains dark.

ASSOCIATIONS & IMPRESSIONS / 02

What the image evokes.

The notebook-like format makes the image feel handled and personal: something kept close, marked up, and carried through time. Its red surface has the worn, rubbed quality of a well-used object, while the spiral and elastic give it the practical air of a sketchbook or working journal. The black labels resemble strips of tape, and their stark white lettering lends the cover an improvised, homemade character.

There is a striking tension between the vivid red field and the restrained black-and-white lettering. The red is energetic, almost urgent, but the careful placement of the labels and the steady vertical strap impose a sense of order. The strap bisects the right side like a line drawn across the composition, partly interrupting the lower wording; that small obstruction makes the cover seem physical rather than designed as a perfectly flat graphic. Against the black surround, it can also suggest an isolated object presented for inspection, its scuffs and layers becoming part of its character.

Associations are subjective readings, rather than documented influences or statements of the artist’s intention.

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Lettering & observation notes
  • HERGEST — On a black strip near the top of the cover
  • Y LLYFR COCH — On a black strip in the lower right area
  • (CASGLIAD) — On a smaller black strip directly beneath “Y LLYFR COCH”
BACK TO THE SOURCE / 03

Artwork sources & licence.

CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗

Credit the author and source, link to the licence and indicate any changes. Share adaptations under compatible terms. Read the full licence for details.

Source year
2010
Source author field
Sain (Records) Ltd
Attribution
Sain (Recordiau) Cyf.
Collection
SAIN / Wikimedia Commons
Catalogue number
SAIN SCD 2630
Source
Wikimedia Commons file page ↗
Permission evidence
Public VRT notice: 2017050910011681
Source checked
20 October 2026

Year as recorded on the source file page; it may not represent the work’s first release. File unchanged; browser preview scaled proportionally.