GEORGE HARRISON - All Things Must Pass LP - 1st Uk Press 5 x 1G stampers

	£		102
	$		135

GEORGE HARRISON - All Things Must Pass LP - 1st Uk Press 5 x 1G stampers

Time to sell more of my vinyl collection - some classical, some jazz, some pop, rock, folk & psych. I know it won't be appreciated by my daughter or the next generation, so I'm shifting it myself and hope I find good homes for it. Initially I am just picking at random from duplicates, stuff I have on CD and items unplayed for ages so there should be a decent mix. You never know, there might just be something to suit your taste.
 
A real gem here - a true first pressing, in the first box, and carrying the very first EMI stampers. Extremely rare, you wait an age for one to come along then five arrive all at once ....this listing is for an original copy of

George Harrison -
All Things Must Pass
Apple STCH 639
UK first pressing 1970 YEX 817 / 818 / 819 / 820 / 821 / 822 -1U
Stampers side 1: 1/G, side 2: 1/G, side 3: 1/G, side 4: 1/G, side 5: 3/PG, side 6: 1/G
Original UK first issue box (with orange loose insert) and poster
Mode: Stereo

The Album:
George Harrison post-Beatles emerging from the shadows of John & Paul with a great solo set. Here's a very early copy.
The records offered here were undoubtedly among the first few copies to be pressed. Yes, the matrix numbers on these records all end in the first issue ' -1U' sequence .. but there again so do tens of thousands of other copies. What differentiates these is the Mother / Stamper numbers found at 3 & 9 o'clock on each record. This set has not just one or two, but FIVE of the six sides carrying the coveted '1 G' Mother / Stamper combination, each one indicating it was in the very first batch of maybe a couple of hundred pressed. (see footnote for more detail). Try checking out one of your own EMI/Parlophone/Apple Beatles albums at random and you might see how high those stamper numbers can go.

The other early-package identifier is the box - early issues of the set came in boxes lined in orange, but the very first few were subtly different. The inner base of the box is not lined with orange paper, it is plain cardboard. Instead of the lining paper, the box has a separate cardboard stiffener, coloured orange on just one side, to match the colour inside the lid. This insert originally served to help pack out the box for protection in transit (these early UK boxes were deeper than the US made issues). Production of boxes in this way was discontinued after a very short early run.

So, with that early box, and with all but one side of this set having been among the first couple of hundred copies produced, this is as close to a genuine first pressing as you will find! Enough said on the pressing credentials - I'll let you decide on the rarity value.

Footnote: For EMI records, the Master is the matrix at the 6 o’clock position (here the ... - 1U), the Mother is the number etched in the deadwax at the 9 o’clock location and the Stamper is identified by the letter(s) etched at the 3 o’clock postion. For their stampers, EMI used a substitution code: G R A M O P H L T D (Gramophone Ltd) where G=1, R=2, A=3, M=4, O=5, P=6, H=7, L=8, T=9 and D=0.  (Where you see more then one letter etched in the dead wax in the Stamper location, they simply combine - so e.g.  "PA" indicates 63rd Stamper .. and usually, both Sides will carry different stamper numbers). It follows of course that the ultimate early pressing of any Beatles EMI LP would be denoted with the code 1 G on both sides, where the '1' represents the first Mother and the 'G' denotes the first Stamper - i.e. one of maybe the first two to three hundred off the press!.

Condition:
Packaging: This set probably averages somewhere around VG+ as a package. The box is in solidly decent all-round condition - the picture has some age-related browning / foxing, and the gilt lettering on the spine has been slightly rubbed but is still clearly legible (see pictures). All eight corners of the lid and base, frequently found broken, are strong and undamaged, as is the 'hinge' (which is effectively just a piece of the leather-effect covering). The inside of the box is as-new, with vivid orange colour, unscuffed, no writing, simply no problem. The factory-fresh credits on the inside of the lid are followed by the 'Made and Printed in Great Britain' text (see picture).
The lyric inners, as normally happens with this set, have unfortunately suffered the customary slice to bottom edge and the grey has short slices to the left/right edges. The huge 3 foot by 2 foot poster is still present and fully intact - no tape tears or pinholes - it' the UK version and carries the 'Printed in Great Britain STCH 639' text at the foot.
Labels: All labels are bright and clean with few spindle marks. No writing or stickers. Excellent
Vinyl: The vinyl has good lustre throughout. The customary few light paper scrapes are visible, but no nasty marks or scratches. It plays really well throughout with just odd light background crackle in some quiet patches / between tracks. I have never tried to deep clean the vinyl since I first bought it beyond the occasional parostatic wipe so there's every chance that a good clean will remove accumulated dust and static and improve playback quality even more.

Overall:
A nice genuine first press of this set - I'd guess it might be professionally graded at (package / vinyls) VG+ / VG+ to EX

Terms:
Please note that I try to test-play at least part of each record before listing, but do not have time to play fully in all cases. I played a lot of this one, but if you do discover a problem which I might have missed, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do all I can to rectify the situation.

Postage: Royal Mail are 'restructuring' prices from April 2013. Probable prices for postage of this set - UK £6.85 normal first class, Europe £9.30 airmail, Rest of world £15.30. Signed for service is an extra £1.10 in UK / £5.30 overseas 
Losses: Royal Mail limit maximum compensation to £20 unless items are sent signed-for in which case you will be covered for £50. If your purchase is over £20 please decide whether to assume that extra risk or ask for a signed for service.

These records are all from my personal collection built up over almost 50 years. Some were bought new, others pre-owned so condition will vary. My attempt at grading is based on Record Collector's grading system. Please therefore read and understand the detailed description which is my honest personal assessment - and I guess you can always check how good or bad that is by checking my feedback. Questions welcome if anything is unclear. Happy bidding.

Payment by Sterling cheque / money order, or via Paypal

Tracks:
Side 1
I'd Have You Anytime
My Sweet Lord
Wah-Wah
Isn't It A Pity (version one)

Side 2
What Is Life
If Not For You
Behind That Locked Door
Let It Down
Run Of The Mill

Side 3
Beware Of Darkness
Apple Scruffs
Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
Awaiting On You All
All Things Must Pass

Side 4
I Dig Love
Art Of Dying
Isn't It A Pity (version two)
Hear Me Lord

Side 5
Out Of The Blue
It's Johnny's Birthday
Plug Me In

Side 6
I Remember Jeep
Thanks For The Pepperoni