BRIAN ENO BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE 1977 UK POLYDOR A3/B2 4 PRINTS VG+/VG+
£
130
$
172
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Description
BRIAN ENO – BEFORE AND AFTER SCIENCE
A particularly desirable complete 1977 UK Polydor pressing of Brian Eno’s Before And After Science, retaining the full four-print Peter Schmidt artwork portfolio together with its original presentation folder.
This is not simply a copy of the album with loose artwork added later. The complete visual package was fundamental to the original presentation of Before And After Science, and surviving examples retaining all four prints plus the original folder are considerably more appealing to collectors than the many incomplete copies encountered today.
This example also carries the characteristic A//3 / B//2 matrices and cryptic hand-etched dead-wax inscriptions, giving the record an additional pressing-identification interest.
KEY PRESSING IDENTIFIER
Original UK Polydor 2302 071
Matrix / Runout:
Side A: 2302071 A//3
Side B: 2302071 B//2
Alongside the machine-stamped matrix information are the distinctive hand-etched messages:
Side A:
GONE BEFORE TO THAT UNKNOWN AND SILENT SHORE
Side B:
ARCANE BENEFITS OF CREED
The Side B pressing code reads T 15 1.
The corresponding Side A code appears also to read T 15 1, although the small characters are difficult to resolve with sufficient certainty to state this definitively.
PRESSING & IDENTIFIERS
Artist: Brian Eno
Album: Before And After Science
Label: Polydor
Catalogue: 2302 071
Country: UK
Year: 1977
Format: LP
Matrices: A//3 / B//2
Complete with the original set of four Peter Schmidt artwork prints:
The Road to the Crater
Look at September, Look at October
The Other House
Four Years
Also includes the original folding presentation folder.
CONDITION
VINYL VISUAL: VG+
A few hairlines and light surface marks are present, but the vinyl retains a very attractive glossy appearance overall and has clearly been well cared for.
VINYL PLAYBACK: VG+
Fully play tested and confidently graded VG+. Background noise is occasionally more noticeable in places, but remains within the grading and does not materially compromise enjoyment of the album.
SLEEVE: VG+
Age-related wear as photographed, but structurally very sound. The spine is particularly pleasing — straight, attractive and extremely well preserved for its age.
PETER SCHMIDT PRINTS: EX
The important four-print artwork set is complete, with all four prints surviving in excellent condition.
ORIGINAL PRINT FOLDER: EX
The original presentation folder is also present and remains in excellent condition.
COLLECTORS NOTES
The collector appeal of this copy rests on completeness rather than simply condition.
The A//3 / B//2 UK pressing is accompanied by its distinctive hand-etched dead-wax messages, but most importantly this example retains the entire Peter Schmidt artwork package — all four prints together with their original folder.
That complete presentation transforms the record from an ordinary playable copy of Before And After Science into a much more satisfying surviving example of the original 1977 issue.
The vinyl and sleeve are conservatively graded VG+, while the elements most frequently lost over the intervening decades — the four prints and their folder — remain complete and EX.
A very compelling collector copy of one of Brian Eno’s defining albums.
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