Harlequin paper bags...
Harlequin Records and Tapes was a Soho-based retailer which ran a chain of stores in the UK. They were independent in the 1970s, but were eventually bought out by Our Price. While trading as Harlequin, the shops had their own company paper bags, and interestingly, the examples below had large adverts for Top of the Pops printed onto one side.
There were two sizes of bag (not surprisingly), one designed to hold singles, the other LPs. So far as the singles bags go, there are at least two varieties known:
There were two sizes of bag (not surprisingly), one designed to hold singles, the other LPs. So far as the singles bags go, there are at least two varieties known:
The images above are courtesy of Leon Parker of the British Record Shop Archive. Visit the site here: www.britishrecordshoparchive.org
This other example was sized to hold albums. The design is different again, but has most in common with the upper singles bag, with the red line border and "Pickwick" branding.
Dating the bags is not too difficult. The Pickwick badge is of the style introduced on the back of the LPs with volume 30 in April 1973, so the bags almost certainly date to after this point. We see a glimpse of them in the July 1975 film, Confessions of a Pop Performer - so we have our window there (let's say they were made circa 1974, for convenience).
The examples in the film, incidentally, show the red bordered variety; the other design, without the Pickwick branding, is probably later. The advert printed on it mentions "12 of Today's Top Hits", so must date to before the end of 1978, when the LPs upped their contents to 16 tracks each.
Thanks again to Leon for the scans.