A gatefold (or gatefold sleeve) is a record jacket that folds open along a center spine, similar to a book or greeting card. When closed, it looks like a standard album cover, but it opens to reveal double-width artwork, photographs, liner notes, lyrics, or other visual content on the inner panels. Gatefold designs were pioneered in the 1960s and became iconic during the album art golden age of the 1970s.
Gatefolds are associated with some of the most celebrated album designs in music history — Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" (with its die-cut windows), Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" (with its iconic prism unfolding), and The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" all used gatefold packaging to create immersive visual experiences.
For collectors, gatefold condition matters. Check for ring wear (circular impressions from the disc pressing through), seam splits (separation along the folds), and general wear on the spine. A pristine gatefold significantly adds to a record's value. Many modern vinyl releases also use gatefold packaging, even for single LPs, as a premium presentation choice.
Frank Sinatra's "In the Wee Small Hours" (1955) is often cited as one of the first gatefold LP releases, setting the template for decades of creative album packaging.