Vinyl plays with crackles and some clicks (play-graded). Cover looks great; a few creases near edges; light-scuffing and surface impressions (front/back); stereo sticker near top-left and tiny surface abrasions on front; slight discoloration with darker discoloration spots on back. Inner-sleeve is original (Reprise ads); two seams partially split. Spine is easy-to-read with mild-wear. Minor shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge; some wear to corners. Split near center and right of top-edge, which has text and is easy-to-read. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and divots. 1966 STEREO pressing with yellow, pink, and green steamboat. (Not a cut-out.)
The Dean Martin Christmas Album, by Dean Martin, was his only album of Christmas music released on Reprise Records (his only other Christmas album, A Winter Romance, having been released in 1959 on Capitol Records). Ricci James Martin, Martin's son, wrote in a biography of his father that The Dean Martin Christmas Album was the only one of his father's albums that was played in the Martin household, his parents seldom listening to Dean Martin's music. Billboard magazine reported in its December 3, 1966 issue that The Dean Martin Christmas Album was on top of its "Best Bets for Christmas" chart. The release of The Dean Martin Christmas Album in October and The Dean Martin TV Show in November 1966 were accompanied by what Billboard described as a "merchandising avalanche" by Reprise Records and their parent company Warner Music. Billboard described Martin as running the "hottest streak of his career", and said that Reprise planned to sell 4 million dollars worth of his records over the Christmas sales period. Billboard later reported that Martin had sold 850,000 albums in December 1966.