DONOVAN Flower to a Garden COMPLETE UK Mono

	£		99
	$		131

Hi, I am Mike, I am 46 and have been a music collector and enthusiast for over 33 years now. We all wish we could turn back the clock and buy those wonderful brand new records from the 60s and 70s, but alas, this is not possible; so I always try to offer the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. No vinyl/music lover really would choose to buy second-hand, but this is only way now to own these valuable, prized and ellusive items now. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirity, not just bits to guess a grade (on a Rega 3 deck with Ortofon cartridge) - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story - I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested reader – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic , and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps or sticks or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance. Item wants are always welcome - email me with anything needed, you never know - I may just have a copy in stock. I by quality single items and collections also (Email me please if you have quality items for sale).

Debutant Bidders: Many sellers refuse first time buyers: I do not follow this practice (everybody has to start somewhere), but I would appreciate any first timer letting me know their intentions of their intended payment method and very prompt communication, preferably before any bid or soon after the auctions ends. This gives confidence that their intentions are honourable, and I in return guarantee extra special good feedbacks to get zero rated Ebayers off to a flying start to help them with future transactions. NOTE: I WILL NOT ACCEPT BIDS FROM UNREGISTERED USERS, I will cancel them immediately, and sorry, I cannot give valuations on people’s personal items just for their own curiosity, no item can be accurately valued blindly.

Please read all the information carefully - these adverts take an age to compile properly - so it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to read the details thoroughly. I really cannot take any responsibility if any bidder fails to read any facts that are clearly stated in the advert - Thankyou.

Artist or Band: DONOVAN

Album Title: A Gift From a Flower to a Garden

Cat Number: NPL 20000 Mono (This was issued in Stereo also but this mono copy is rarer).

Label and Condition: Pye, classic 60s pale blue format. Stunning, all four labels are as clean and fresh looking as you can ever imagine, only picture restriction of six per advert stops me scanning them all. All four have very light spindle traces and these hardly even really show. These amazing light traces are even exceeded by the total lack of any wear around the two centre holes, this proves beyond doubt this incredible set has hardly been played and this is always vital to any mono record(s). (Please see label scans for all information needed, gorgeous aren’t they?)

Country of Manufacture: England, UK

What’s Included and a few details?: This is one of the classic late 60s psych packages and it is complete.. The format for this one is: The robust box finished in blue that is unhinged, it lifts completely off the lower tray. Two lovely original mono records that come in their original tracing paper type lined inners (both immaculate, very white and unaged, unsplit and very clean and both have undamaged and clean, clear windows). The fold-out wallet and all 12 poetry picture card inserts (all pristine mint). This was immaculately produced by Mickie Most and the full band were: Donovan: Vocals, whistling and guitar; Cliff Barton: electric bass; Mike O’Neil: Organ, piano and harpsichord; Keith Webb: Drums; Candy John Carr: percussion; Harold McNair: Flute; Mike Carr: Vibraphone; Eric Leese Electric guitar; Jack Bruce: Bass.

Rarity: Rare complete, and this is rarer still mono version. This set is seldom seen or offered these days, finding a copy with the two mono records so lightly played with all the inserts in mint condition will prove near impossible. The actual box is real nice too, with only minimal wear to the edges - please see the photos, they do not lie and are completely untouched up or enhanced. Quite possibly, for a major artist, one of the scarcest late 60s sets.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: NPL 2000 A-1*G / B-1*G and NPL 20000 C-1*G, / D-1*G. With these matrix numbers and codes I feel very sure this is a very first pressing.

Brief Artist & Album Info: Donovan, an artist who did not always get the full accolades his music truly deserves. His comparison to Dylan is somewhat unfair; this highly individual and gifted singer is his own man. He wrote some of the most wonderful songs of the late 60s and his style suited the classic hippy psych era perfectly. None more so than this stunning double box set, this for me Flower is his greatest ever album. Beautifully packaged with sublime songs, this is fast becoming rare - complete copies in strong condition will simply rarely be offered or found. Even the non-Donovan fans always seemed to like this set. The lavish packaging is a huge bonus factor too. No compromising on quality, even the cards themselves are printed on top quality, watermarked paper. Finding the full set of 12 in mint condition in a mint ‘wallet’ will prove a huge challenge, but why bother - they are here and their quality is simply stunning. The Pye pair of records are very heavily pressed and sound quality is sublime. Blemishes are few and this truly is a set to cherish and be proud of. What quality collection could be without this one?

Box Grade and Format: Unlaminated and vulnerable. EX for the lid part, EX++ for the bottom tray half. Heavy duty box with fully removable lid (unhinged) unillustrated areas are textured and have a luxurious feel about them. All four of the box faces (inside and outside in other words) are lavishly illustrated. All lyrics are printed inside the lid with a list of the players and details and a superb forward written by Donovan himself. This box is truly lovely and so fragile, but has more than just survived, this looks tremendous, the worst of any wear (which is still pretty modest given the great age and vulnerability) is on the lid edges - these take the brunt of any use and wear. There is some mild rubbing near the corners and one had a small split that has been neatly clear tape repaired - how many of these vintage boxes will not have a little stress subjected to the corner joins?, taken into context this is pretty minor and represents the only ‘damage wear’ to this superb item. There are a few small chips and the odd light stain type mark, but these are relatively unobtrusive on the very dark finish. The box lid top picture is lovely with just a few very light surface mark traces or hairline type marks but no rubbing or colour loss or fading.No indentations or creasing either and very clean. The inner lid with the green lyrics is near mint and immaculate. The box lower tray half is almost unbelievable: all edges are like new as is the inside. You can imagine how prone to wear the bottom of the box would be, but this is remarkable. A vintage picture of Donovan with His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, this is unrubbed for worn with just a few light surface marks or hairlines again. Normal viewing hardly anything shows. The rich blue textured surround has to be seen, how many survive looking quite like this would be few and its a pleasure to offer this. This lower box is completely unsplit and simply too nice for words.

Wallet: This has to be graded as close to mint. Its immaculate with virtually no wear or marks. Any creasing is so light its almost an insult to even mention anything. No tearing or splits - the word pristine comes to mind.

Card Inserts Wow, never seen these before. Well again virtually mint for the lot. No chance of faking these, they are printed on screen watermarked paper (similar to Conqueror paper). Quite thick with a feel of luxury. All illustrated with the poetic lyrics. They are named ‘The First’ up to the ‘The Twelfth’. If you can find this set better, be proud.

Packaging Summary: A wonderful complete example, this is investment quality and should please most collectors, even the connoisseurs reading this.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: A truly gorgeous pair of Pyes, deep black and shiny and very heavily pressed. I grade this hugely important set very critically, I Side One: EX+ (one small mark); Side Two: EX++, a faint hairline) Side Three: EX (couple of light marks. Side Four: EX+ (couple of very small light marks). Bear in mind this is a top quality Pye deep grooved mono record any light marks will be totally ignored and most are. There are a few odd sporadic ticks but I emphasise few. Little to nothing spoilt my pleasure hearing this vintage set, its so good infact I will be downloading this to CD for my own personal use before it goes. I would doubt if a mono mix of this will exist on CD and the sound and songs are quite sublime.

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: These four sides look wonderful, make no mistake about this, but the playback is even better. Mono records are always such a gamble, visuals tell you little to nothing just one play on a heavy mono 60s deck with a worn or damaged sapphire pick up will damage the delicate grooves (please read my paragraph below to put this into perspective). This pair are as clean and unworn as will be likely found, yes a few small and mainly light marks, odd light tick but imagine what many if not the majority will be like. The hugely important factor is this has no distortion or sound degrading and the vast majority of this set play perfectly and quietly. Recorded very loudly, with superb range and dynamics - mono albums always excel in this type of sound and this is no exception. Donovan could almost be in the room, his voice is as clear as that. Pressing standard is of the highest quality, Pye were in the Decca class and rarely, if ever, do they disappoint. A copy that does this hauntingly wonderful set full justice, not quite perfection but very close.

Mono vs Stereo, an overview: Always a matter of opinion which is better or more important. For any serious collector where there is a choice e.g. Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc. both are essential. True Stereo albums give great imagery and presence whereas mono albums usually are more dynamic, louder and present the detail more clearly. Mono albums are far harder to find in genuinely top playing condition. Most were heavily played, particularly the truly great bands and artists, often covered in mark and scratches, many severe and labels that were a mass of spindle marks. The majority were played on vintage and unsubtle decks with heavy tonearms and thick styli (often sapphire, not diamond, that chipped more easily) that rendered heavy wear in a very short time to many a fine classic record. Wear to the delicate groove walls, particularly the innermost tracks to the labels were most vulnerable where the tracking angle became more severe and the backdrag actually stripped the delicate groove walls. This resulted in surface noise and mild/moderate distortion or worse. These old decks tracked by sheer weight and little of any refined engineering. Next time you see such a deck at a local record fayre, feel the weight of the arm, it almost makes you wonder how any records survived at all. The point of this paragraph is emphasise that when a truly clean, lightly played and great sounding 60s mono album (or stereo come to that) is offered, treasure it, because for sure they are truly getting vary rare and precious - beware - demand only play-graded records. As a general guide to rarity, mono was the far more common format from 61–65; Around 66–67 the balance was roughly equal, then from 68-69 the balance swung more to stereo, making monos from these dates far scarcer, even rare - this guide is important and effects values greatly.

Track Listing: Wear you like heaven; Mad John’s escape; Skip-a-long Sam; Sun; There was a time; Oh Gosh; Little boy in couduroy; Under the greenwood tree; The land of doesn’t have to be; Someone singing; Song of the Naturalists wife; The enchanted gypsy; Voyage into the golden screen; Isle of Islay; The mandolin man and his secret; Lay of the last tinker; The tinker and the crab; Widow with shawl (a portrait); The lullaby of spring; The magpie; Starfish-on-the toast; Epistle to Derroll..

Album Played For Grading: Yes.

Final Summary: One of the loveliest packages from those great music days of the late 60s - this has to be Donovan’s greatest work. To find and be able to offer such a strong copy is a pleasure, at around 35 years old its close to remarkable. The actual boxes rarely show up in anything like pleasing condition - even 70s boxed sets are usually found falling apart, so this must be considered rare. Including all the inserts too in near mint, well it goes without saying, its exceptional. I strongly recommend this set to all, musically and conditionwise (I have tried to describe it to best of my ability) - if you have zero tolerance for the odd sporadic tick you will best to carrying on searching for the impossible and good luck. Most interested people will know realistically this maybe could be the best opportunity they get for this highly ellusive complete set in such an unworn condition. I hope the winning bidder enjoyed it as much as I did. – Mike.

Payment Details please read carefully:

UK First Class: = £2.50; Recorded Delivery (Recommended) = £4.00 Special Delivery (Next day, insured up to £250), the best service available = £6.00

Europe Air Mail: = £4 Insured: £8.00

Overseas, non-Europe e.g. USA, Japan, Australia etc. Airmail:= £7; Insured with recorded delivery (where available) = £11.00

Singles: (Packed to the high standards of the LPs)

UK First class: = £2.00 Insured: £4

Europe Air Mail = £3.00 Insured: £5.50

Overseas, non-Europe (as above) Airmail £3.50 Insured: £6.00

Doubles add extra £1, triples add extra £2. Box sets add extra £3 (£4 overseas and Europe)

Any item that sells for over £85 will be sent Special Delivery in the UK at no extra cost. Items over £125 get the same service Overseas. This is gives peace of mind for the winning bidder and myself for valuable items. Reduced postage of course for multiple items.

The winner bidder chooses his/her posting method and if uninsured is chosen, its their decision and they have to stick with it, I can accept no responsibility if an item is lost in the post. I can only try to claim at standard levels if no enhancement is chosen (£28). PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT use surface mail, its too slow, with a higher risk of loss and damage.

Mailing Details: Please note I do not profit on postage (my packing standards are high and the package weighs a little more. All records are sent in plastic covers with the record taken out of the sleeve and sent in professional mailers with FOUR professional stiffners for extra protection (if space allows), I do NOT use old cardboard boxes or cereal packets for protection. More expensive items are also inserted into a de-luxe heavy duty padded bag AS WELL to give that extra protection. I truly want ALL my items to arrive to their destination in the same condition they leave me. I will also include in most cases a brand new lined inner, but will include the original inner if available and in a condition to be given.

I accept cash for payments worldwide in UK Pounds Sterling, Euros or US Dollars - but this at the senders own risk. Please send registered and insured if this method is chosen. I cannot accept responsibility if any cash payments do not turn up. This system is very reliable and rarely goes astray. The same goes for any shipped uninsured item, I can only try to claim for any undelivered or damaged article at basic insurance levels if no enhanced insurance is requested and paid for (unless the value threshold is high enough for me insure as standard, see above)

Overseas bidders please note conversion rates for Pounds to Dollars and Pounds to Euros will be charged at 1.7 to cover PayPal or cash conversion costs.

PLEASE NOTE: Any PayPal user can now pay me with UK Sterling if they wish with no need to convert to US dollars (although they still can if they wish to). Any instant PayPal transaction from anywhere in the world will mean the item will be sent immediately - it makes deals fast and very efficient.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. I now only accept PayPal, International money orders or cash from overseas bidders (UK Sterling, US dollars or Euros). Cash, cheques, postal orders and PayPal are fine from the UK. I allow maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if this does not happen I will relist the item and may send negative feedback unless an explanation is given. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask. Please keep watch on my Ebays, I have other interesting items coming very soon. Thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: As listening to every single record I offer all the way through is difficult timewise, can I make it clear if any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. I still endeavour to play all the items in their entirity for grading if at all possible and is usually the case.