"The Smiths" + "Meat Is Murder" [Japan Tokuma 2xcd: 27JC189-190]
This was put together in 1986 before the invention of thin double cd cases. It therefore comes in an old-style thick double jewel case, the type that is a bit thicker than two standard jewel cases together. The front shows the usual cd artwork of "Meat Is Murder" with only one soldier. Because this type of case needs the front artwork to be the size of a usual cd tray insert, the extra space at the left of the name of the band was left white (view). The back shows the artwork to the self-titled debut album with, in this case, the extra space at the right filled with the album's shade of purple/maroon. A few lines of credits are printed in white at the very bottom. Each of those two inserts has one spine in English and the other in Japanese, which means that the left spine (the one seen in the photo above) is white/English and purple/Japanese while the situation is reversed at the other end. The obi is actually a sticker wrapped around the left spine, covering the extra white and purple spaces on the front and back. This obi is yellow with black text. Its spine has a big 'W' logo at the top and the back has the track listing and the barcode. Copies that still have their obi are scarcely found nowadays. The booklet has two front sides, one reversed to the other (view opened booklet). Both sides show the usual artwork, but the "The Smiths" side has the catalogue number in white in the bottom right corner. Each half of the booklet has the content related to its front cover, one half reversed to the other so one has to flip the booklet over when reaching the middle. Each side opens on a page of credits next to a black and white photo of the band. Lyrics follow in English and Japanese with another photo found at the end of the "Meat Is Murder" half. The discs' artwork is unlike any other Japanese edition out there. Each of them is partly coloured and uncoloured (silver). The coloured parts are pink for "The Smiths" and white for "Meat Is Murder". In both cases the track listing is printed at the top and continued at the bottom, in silver over colour. The left has a compact disc logo, the catalogue number, a CD W Pack Series logo and licensing credits in colour over silver. The right has the name of the album and a Rough Trade logo in silver over colour.

"The Smiths" + "Meat Is Murder" promo [Japan Tokuma 2xcd: 27JC189-190]
Promo copies of the above item are stock ones with a white "Sample Not For Sale" sticker on the back.

"Hatful Of Hollow" + "The Queen Is Dead" [Japan Tokuma 2xcd: 27JC191-192]
This was put together in 1986 before the invention of thin double cd cases. It therefore comes in an old-style thick double jewel case, the type that is a bit thicker than two standard jewel cases together. The front shows the usual LP artwork of "The Queen Is Dead" like all subsequent Japanese cd editions of the album until 1993. Because this type of case needs the front artwork to be the size of a usual cd tray insert, the extra space at the left of the image was left dark green (view). The back shows the artwork to "Hatful Of Hollow" (the early variation with blue background) with in this case the extra space at the right filled with the album's shade of blue. A few lines of credits are printed in black at the very bottom. Each of those two inserts has one spine in English and the other in Japanese, which means that the left spine (the one seen in the photo above) is pink/English and blue/Japanese while the situation is reversed at the other end. The obi is actually a sticker wrapped around the left spine, covering the extra green and blue spaces on the front and back. This obi is yellow with black text. Its spine has a big 'W' logo at the top and the back has the track listing and the barcode. Copies that still have their obi are scarcely found nowadays. The booklet has two front sides, one reversed to the other (view opened booklet). Both sides show the usual artwork, but the "Hatful Of Hollow" side has the catalogue number in black in the bottom right corner. Each half of the booklet has the content related to its front cover, one half reversed to the other so one has to flip the booklet over when reaching the middle. Each side opens on a page of credits next to a black and white photo of the band. Lyrics follow in English and Japanese. The lyrics in the "The Queen Is Dead" half are interspersed with more black and white photos of the band. The discs' artwork is unlike any other Japanese edition out there. Each of them is partly coloured and uncoloured (silver). The coloured parts are green for "The Queen Is Dead" and blue for "Hatful Of Hollow". In both cases the track listing is printed at the top and continued at the bottom, in silver over colour. The left has a compact disc logo, the catalogue number, a CD W Pack Series logo and licensing credits in colour over silver. The right has the name of the album and a Rough Trade logo in silver over colour.

"Hatful Of Hollow" + "The Queen Is Dead" [Japan Tokuma 2xcd: 27JC191-192]
Promo copies of the above item are stock ones with a white "Sample Not For Sale" sticker on the back.

Greek satchel bag
A black shoulder bag including five Greek 12"s of the Smiths appeared on the market in the late 1980s. The 12"s included are "How Soon Is Now?", "Bigmouth Strikes Again", "Ask", "Girlfriend In A Coma" and "Sheila Take A Bow" (click on individual titles for description of specific record). The bag has an 'ironed-on' photo of Morrissey from the Smiths days on it (view).

How Soon Is Now [Portugal Transmedia, 3-LP: 12005]
This unofficial triple-LP set was put together in Germany in 1988 and was sold mainly in Germany and other European countries. It combines unsold/leftover Portuguese pressings of the albums "Hatful Of Hollow", "The Queen Is Dead" and "Strangeways Here We Come". The records are identical to their original pressings (click on album links above for description) and are slipped inside thin anti-static plastic inner sleeves instead of the original lyrics/picture inner sleeves, which means that no credits or lyrics are included in the set. The records are found side by side in a picture sleeve showing on both sides the same artwork that has nothing to do with the Smiths or Morrissey.

Half A Person [Portugal Transmedia, 3-LP: 12006]
This unofficial triple-LP set was put together in Germany in 1988 and was sold mainly in Germany and other European countries. It combines unsold/leftover Portuguese pressings of the albums "The Smiths", "Meat Is Murder" and "The World Won't Listen". The records are identical to their original pressings (click on album links above for description) and are slipped inside thin anti-static plastic inner sleeves instead of the original lyrics/picture inner sleeves, which means that no credits or lyrics are included in the set. The records are found side by side in a picture sleeve showing on both sides the same artwork that has nothing to do with the Smiths or Morrissey.

Best ("Best...I" + "Best...II") [Germany/Europe WEA 2xcd: 94164-2]
Shortly after the release of "Best...II" in December 1992, WEA repackaged together "Best...I" and "Best...II" under the simple title "Best". The cds are the regular European editions made in Germany (click on links above for description of individual release) packaged together in a simple card slipcase. The front of the slipcase shows the complete original Dennis Hopper 'biker couple' photo which had been split in two for the individual releases, with "The Smiths" in pink at the bottom (view). The back looks like the back of the cds, with a pink tinted close-up of a background detail from the front artwork, above a black stripe with legal credits, barcode and catalogue number (view). The full track listing of the two albums is printed over the pink section. More interesting to collectors is the white box at the bottom with a number stamped into it (because the box is limited and numbered). There is a thumb-sized indentation on the right side of the front and the left side of the back to facilitate access to the cds inside. The spine is black with "The Smiths" in pink, "Best" in white, and the WEA logo and catalogue number in white at the bottom. The top and bottom sides are all black.

Double Dose [Australia WEA, 2-CD: 0630196872]
This is an Australian double cd set released in 1997 combining the albums "Hatful Of Hollow" and "Meat Is Murder" inside a thin '2-cd' jewel case with transparent tray (the variety that's no thicker than a regular jewel case). The front is a record label creation showing the artwork of the two albums (view). The back is a similar creation showing the track listing to both albums above the pill-shaped "Double Dose" logo, with credits, a WEA logo and the barcode at the right. Both booklets are included inside the cd case, behind the front insert. They are presumably identical to the booklets found in the Australian WEA editions of the respective titles (confirmation needed). The discs are also expected to be identical to the ones found in the Australian WEA editions (confirmation needed). They differ from their European counterparts by the absence of the line "Made In Germany" on the right and by different credits around the edge. Also, the name of the band at the top of the "Hatful Of Hollow" cd is white like the rest of the text, instead of silver. The back tray insert is black with a list of other artists released in the "Double Dose Collection", and with "The Smiths" printed sideways at the very left so it is still visible through the transparent tray when the case is closed.

Super Twins [Japan WEA, 2-CD: WPCR2419/20]
This is a budget double cd set put together in 1998 by WEA Japan, pairing the albums "Hatful Of Hollow" and "Meat Is Murder" without their original artwork. The packaging is a thin '2-cd' double jewel case with clear plastic tray. The artwork was modelled on that of the "Double Dose" set listed above, but with the title "Super Twins" (view front). Collectors with a keen eye will notice that the "Meat Is Murder" cover on the front was changed for a variation on which the name of the band is closer to olive green and positioned a bit more to the left. The back artwork was also modelled on the "Double Dose" back but the credits were adapted for Warner Music Japan and the barcode was removed (view back). The obi is a mix of black and white and is filled with white, black, yellow, orange and grey text, with a "Super Twins 2CD" logo at the top. The barcode is found on its back. The inner side of the tray insert is white and shows a list of other artists in the "Super Twins" series. Unlike "Double Dose", the "Super Twins" set does not include the original booklets. The only thing included is a folded insert. The track listings and a bit of release information and credits are found inside it in black and white. The back of the insert is mostly white with Japanese text in black at the bottom. Surprisingly, the "Hatful Of Hollow" cd is white with blue text instead of the usual blue with white text but the layout is almost the same as on the original cd. A few changes were made in the catalogue number and in the credits on the right. The "Meat Is Murder" cd appears to be in the same colours and with the same text layout as the usual WEA discs. A few changes in the catalogue number and in the credits are expected (confirmation needed).

"Hatful Of Hollow" + "The Queen Is Dead" [France WEA, 2-CD: 80185-2]
A budget 2-cd set combining WEA editions of "Hatful Of Hollow" and "The Queen Is Dead" was put together in 1999 to be sold in France during the Christmas season. The cds are assumed to be identical to the original Germany/Europe WEA editions (confirmation needed). They were packaged one above the other in a card 'longbox' (view front artwork). Back artwork image or description needed. Supposedly limited to 900 copies.

The set was re-released for the 2000 Christmas season, but the packaging was redone with one cd behind the other instead of one above the other, the 2 cds slipped in a thick card inner slipcase. The front artwork shows the two album covers side by side over the same sandy background (view front artwork). The back features a short bio of the band in the top half and the track listings for the two albums in the bottom half, in black over a beige fabric texture, with a red section on the right. The spine is red with "Coffret 2 CD Originaux" and album identification in a mix of white and beige, as well as a Warner Strategic Marketing logo in black. The top spine repeats "Coffret 2 CD Originaux" and states the content identification in black. A Warner Strategic Marketing logo, a Warner copyright, the catalogue number and the barcode are found in black on the bottom spine.

Take 2 [Australia WEA, 2-CD: 857384649-2]
This box set released in 2000 pairs the WEA Australia editions of "Best...I" and "Best...II" in a card slipcase (view front artwork, back artwork). The back is indented to facilitate access to the cds inside. The 'spine' and top and bottom sides are black with white text: "The Smiths", "Best...I", "Best...II", the Take2 logo and the catalogue number. The cds inside are identical to the individual Australia WEA cds except perhaps the discs (information on the original 'non-boxed' WEA Australia discs is needed). The cd surface is black except for the text which is silver (not coloured). Compared to the WEA Europe cds, the text font was changed, the catalogue number was moved from the top to the right, a Digital Audio Technologies Australia logo was added to the left, the WEA logo was moved from the bottom to the right and the credits at the right and around the edge were adapted. The disc for "Best...I" also has a Warner Music Australia credit on the left and the disc for "Best...II" has a slightly different layout of the credits at the bottom.

Trilogy [Spain/Europe WEA, 3-CD: 5101107792]
This is a 3-cd set released in Spain in 2005 which combines the albums "Hatful Of Hollow", "Meat Is Murder" and "The Queen Is Dead". The packaging is a 3-panel type of digipak featuring the same generic artwork as other artists released in the series (view front artwork, back artwork). The spine is white with release info in grey and black and small reproductions of the artwork of the three albums. The packaging unfolds to display the three trays side by side. The first tray is backed by the front artwork, the second by the back artwork and the third by an illustrated list of other artists available in the "Trilogy" series (20 covers pictured, all in the same style). This illustrated listed is therefore visible only when only the packaging's first panel is opened. The discs are in different colours but they all have the same text layout. "Trilogy / Edicion Especial Limitada" appears at the top, "The Smiths" at the left, the album title at the right, and credits and logos at the bottom. All this text is printed over a big number '3'. The "Hatful Of Hollow" disc is black with a grey '3'. The "Meat Is Murder" disc is grey with a black '3'. The "The Queen Is Dead" disc is white with a grey '3'. The trays are transparent so when a disc is taken out, its track listing is found underneath in black over white. The "Hatful Of Hollow" cd actually plays "The Queen Is Dead", and vice versa.

Singles Box [7" edition]
This box set combining 7" repressings of the Smiths' first ten singles (plus bonuses) has its own collectors appendix here.

Singles Box [cd edition]
This box set combining cd repressings of the Smiths' first ten singles (plus bonuses) has its own collectors appendix here.