LED ZEPPELIN - FIRST ALBUM 1969 - RED/PLUM LABELS - A//1 B//1

	£		26
	$		34

This record is part of a private collection put together in the late 1960's, 1970's and 1980's which I will be selling over several weeks. There are almost 400 albums comprising mostly rock but with a bit of folk, a bit of jazz and even some pop. I will have at least 50 albums listed each week so please be sure to
check my other listings here.

Information regarding provenance, grading and shipping is below the photos so please read the entire listing before bidding
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin First pressing variant of Led Zeppelin's debut LP which might have been worth £250 to £300 however .... read the description and decide for yourself how much it's worth to you

Let's start with identification ... the sleeve is the orange text variant with the grey line along the bottom which was used on the 1969 pressings. The matrix numbers are
588171 A // 1   1  2               26
588171 B // 1   1                    23
All numbers are stamped but on each side the second number 8 is crossed through and replaced by a hand etched number 8

Sleeve condition would be fairly described as Very Good +. There is no damage and the cover is very clean. A minor bump on the bottom left corner but all other corners are virtually untouched. There is no wear on any of the edges, not even on the opening edge where the laminate doesn't quite reach and this edge usually gets a lot of wear. The spine is excellent. The laminate is lightly rubbed and there are a few light creases and a little lifting of the laminate along the spine but nothing to be overly concerned about. Overall a great cover.

The inner may or may not be original but it is certainly early. The usual creasing from handling and the corner has been cut away to make it easier to put back in the sleeve, a common practice in the old days.

The vinyl would probably be classed as Very Good + but for one fault. The record has obviously been played and has a number of hairline scratches and light scuff marks none of which are likely to affect the sound and would be perfectly acceptable as a Very Good + copy. The big problem though is that there is a fault in the vinyl on Track Two of Side one. I cannot play this album so can't comment on the effect of this fault on the sound but I cannot imagine that it will not be noticeable. It is difficult to describe such faults so please see the final two photographs below. In the second from last photo the fault can be seen at the top left about the ten o'clock position and the final photograph shows it close up.

The labels are undamaged and clean but do have spindle marks which can be seen against the light

The album has been described as accurately as possible and is sold on this basis.
What's is worth? Bearing in mind that this album can sell for over £300 in excellent condition it has to be worth something surely? Even with that damned shame fault!




Label ATLANTIC
Catalog No. 588171
Year 1969
Matrix numbers A // 1 - B // 1
Other markings See above
Vinyl See above
Sleeve VERY GOOD +
Inner VERY GOOD
Additional notes
Photographs may be viewed at full size by clicking an image which will then open in your browser, you may then click on the newly opened image for a full enlargement - these should open in a new window but if not just use the back button to return to the listing

Fully enlarging the photos will  enable the exact condition of the cover to be seen

Provenance

These albums belonged to my brother-in-law who, in the words of Van Morrison, passed "beyond the bridge where angels dwell" back in 2009. He was far too young but would have shrugged his shoulders and said  - who wants to live forever?

Most of the albums would have been bought new between 1967 and 1991 but there are a few that were obviously picked up secondhand in the record shops he used to frequent in London and Southend. He look after his records carefully, had decent equipment and never played anything to death. In almost all cases where there were pictorial inner sleeves the record was rehoused in a new liner so that the original inner didn't get damaged

Close your eyes in fields of wonder
Close your eyes and dream

~Van Morrison

Grading

I do not have any equipment to play these records therefore grading is VISUAL ONLY based on the following adapted from the usual Record Collector gradings

EXCELLENT : The record may show some signs of having been played, but there are no visible marks or scratches. The cover will be almost as new. There may however be very light shelf wear but there will be no defects or other marks

VERY GOOD + : Record is almost EXCELLENT but may have a minor mark or marks that will not affect play. Cover will be undamaged but may be have one or two minor marks or be a little dirty through age

VERY GOOD : The record has obviously been played many times and may have 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 looks to have been played so much that the sound quality may have deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

In the event that a record does not play properly - i.e. has skips or noticeable scratches  - we will happily offer a refund

Cleaning

All records have been cleaned with an anti-static brush to remove most visible dust however static being what it is more dust will have inevitably been attracted by the time the record is replaced so they may need a little more cleaning. Due to their age these records may benefit from proper wet cleaning but this decision is left to the purchaser. There seems to be a consensus that wet cleaning decreases surface noise and improves sound so may be worthwhile if you know what you are doing!

Packing

Albums will be shipped in specially purchased packaging designed specifically for LP's which will hold the record(s) securely without movement and which extends about an inch beyond the sides of the record to prevent damage to corners

Shipping

All items sent by Royal Mail First Class or by Airmail
unless requested otherwise. Royal Mail Special Delivery or Signed For is available
upon request and may be used automatically for high value items

Quantity UK Europe Worldwide 1 £3.75 £5.75 £8.40 2 £7.00 £11.25 3 £8.55 £14.10 4 £5.95 5 £10.00 £16.95 6 £11.45 £19.80 7 £13.20 £22.65 8 £14.35 £25.50 Purchases of more than 8 records will be sent as separate packages at the appropriate rates above
Double albums count as two singles

Royal Mail are now, unfortunately, far too expensive but there is no alternative.
Shipping is more cost effective on multiple records so be sure to check my other listings for other records of interest

Check my other listings here

Happy Bidding!