Beatles UK- Sgt Pepper's ‘Fourth Proof’ Mono LP.

PMC 7027 – Original Black and Yellow Parlophone label.

An  UK pressing  in 100%  original condition, features the rarest known version of this ground breaking album.

This ultra RARE and unique version of this album was effectively a preproduction sleeve,  the first  3 ‘proofs’  didn’t see the light of day,  this 4 ‘proof’ was passed around for final agreement, it is believed that only  40 – 50 copies were ever produced !.  Never meant to be released, but a number of these sleeves did find their way into  the public market.  As these  were ‘proof’  copies they  should have NEVER have left  EMI.

There are a number of differences from the final production sleeve that make it  unique:

1. a "4TH PROOF"  and a "AR" AND " D 13217"  printed on the top flipback seen on the inner gatefold of the sleeve,  there is a story about this that the old style of ‘visual’  flipbacks where on their way out and that the album was to feature the new ‘inner’  flipbacks design, therefore it was  thought that the above text would  NOT be  seen !.  Apparently the ‘AR’ stands for the designers initials and the ‘D 13217’  is the internal catalogue number for the printers of the sleeve, ‘Garrod and Lofthouse’.

2. The rear of the sleeve features the text "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd  Patents Pending”,  its only a very small number of very early Pepper Mono sleeves that have this additional text, ‘Patents Pending’. The sleeve normally just states "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd" (G&L). By the time of the official launch of Sgt Pepper in June 1967, G&L had got their ‘Patents’ confirmed and this text ‘Patents Pending”  was removed from the sleeve.  

3. Georges jacket is Pink instead of Red, as on the standard sleeves,

4. Johns jacket is Yellow instead of Green, as on the standard sleeves.

CONDITION:

MAIN SLEEVE:  is in very good condition,  however the spine is in fair to good condition.  The sleeve is fully laminated,  it features the original exposed flipbacks when the sleeve is opened.  The spine has worn through in the middle, on the outside only of the sleeve, the inside of the sleeve to the spine there is NO wear.  The text   ‘Pep’  can be seen,  the rest of the text has worn away.   Otherwise this is a very good complete and very original sleeve.

The original DARK green cardboard cut-out is present and is in excellent  condition.

INNER SLEEVE: is in good+  condition,  it is the original  Wavy red and white sleeve,   there is some  rubbing wear at all three edges.  There is  a small tear, 20mm to One side only of the opening edge.  The sleeve is clean and tidy with NO  Biro pen writing or stains on.

VINYL:  side One is in near excellent condition, side Two is in very good+  condition, it is made from  the period thick, heavy vinyl, it is dark and has a high gloss.  The matrix no’s. are XEX 637-1 and XEX 638-1 and the Mother/Stampers are:  ‘6 - ADG’ and  ‘2  - OPR’.     

AUDIO:  is very good+, it plays really well all the way through  and lays flat on the turntable and plays with NO skips or jumps.  There is some light crackle present,  on side Two  there is a   ‘tick’   that appears on the track,  ‘When I’m 64’,  this lasts for   about One minute.

THE LABELS:  are in very good+ condition, they are  bright and clean,  there is a  ‘KT’ embossed onto side Two.  There is NO Biro writing or sticker damage etc.

Post and Packing for UK Sales.

For  a Single LP,  Post and Package is FREE up to the value of £39.

Post and Package for more than One LP, or a double LP there will be a charge.

Items that sell for over £39 there will be a charge for the cost of the Post and Package and where necessary Insurance and a Recorded Delivery Service.

Please see my conditions of sale etc below.

THEREFORE PLEASE WAIT UNTIL I SEND YOU AN INVOICE, BEFORE YOU SEND PAYMENT.

 IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL ME,  

THANK YOU.

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Unfortunately as you  will see from my feedback,   I have received one neutral and one negative feedback recently.   This is due to the fact that I followed Ebay policy and reported  an Ebay member for non payment and in turn I have received these two pieces of feedback !, while this Ebay member carries on trading unaffected !,    I am disgusted that Ebay has let this happen !

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To fairly grade the condition of the record, I am using the official grading system from the Record Collector Magazine.

Grading System

The seven standard condition categories and a description of what each one means are listed below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump.
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

+  or  – :  indicates a grading in between categories.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE.

ALL PICTURES AND RECORD DESCRIPTIONS ARE MY OWN AND ARE ALWAYS OF THE ACTUAL RECORD FOR SALE.

ALL RECORDS WILL BE REMOVED FROM THEIR ORIGINAL SLEEVES TO AVOID ANY DAMAGE,  THE RECORD WILL THEN BE PUT INTO A SECOND INNER SLEEVE FOR MAXIMUM PROTECTION WHILE IN TRANSIT.

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL ITEMS ARE PAID FOR BY AT LEAST ONE WEEK FROM THE END OF THE AUCTION.

PICK UP OF ITEMS CAN BE ARRANGED BUT THE BUYER MUST PAY CASH ON COLLECTION.

POST AND PACKING.

PACKING - ALL RECORDS ARE SENT OUT WITH MULTI LAYERED CARD STIFFENERS.

DISCOUNT WILL BE GIVEN ON POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL GET A RECEIPT FOR ANY ITEMS SENT UNINSURED, BUT I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEMS LOST IN THE POST !

 IN THE UK  ALL ITEMS SENT OUT OVER THE VALUE OF £39 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, SO POST AND PACKING CHARGES WILL VARY.

ITEMS WITH A GREATER VALUE OF £39, THE BUYER WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE, AS STATED IN EBAY POLICY, AS THE SELLER HAS NO PROTECTION IF THE ITEM GOES MISSING IN THE POST ETC. 

SHIPPING COSTS OVERSEAS.

I WILL BE HAPPY  TO SEND RECORDS OVERSEAS, CONTACT ME AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW THE POST AND PACKAGE CHARGES.

ITEMS WITH A GREATER VALUE OF £39, THE BUYER WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE, AS STATED IN EBAY POLICY, AS THE SELLER HAS NO PROTECTION IF THE ITEM GOES MISSING IN THE POST ETC. 

ALL  ITEMS THAT ARE POSTED OVERSEAS WILL BE SENT ‘RECORDED DELIVERY’,  TO COMPLY WITH EBAY POLICY, SO POST AND PACKING CHARGES WILL VARY.

SEE MY OTHER ITEMS FOR SALE.