BEATLES SGT.PEPPER FOURTH PROOF, PLUS SIGNED PETER BLAKE CUT OUT, PLUS 2 POSTERS

	£		180
	$		239

PETER BLAKE SIGNED SGT. PEPPER’S‘CUT-OUTS’ CARD INSERT, plus

The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:

1st UK pressing, (FOURTH PROOF) 
A Garrod & Lofthouse Patents pending laminated gatefold cover (flip-back glue-tabs on inner spread); (GOOD CONDITION, BUT THE SPINE IS DAMAGED AND THE TITLE ETC. MISSING (SEE PICTURE))
A red half-tone print on white 'psychedelic' inner sleeve; (V.GOOD CON)
A 'cut-outs' card insert (full-colour, single-sided. Printed signatures of Blake/Haworth at foot); SIGNED BY PETER BLAKE AT THE BOTTOM: SIGNED AT THE ‘ART CAR BOOT SALE’ IN JULY 2009, ON LONDON’S BRICK LANE) (NEAR MINT CONDITION, ALTHOUGH SLIGHTLY FADED!)
A black and yellow logo label with silver text: (V. GOOD CONDITION)
"The Gramophone Co." in the radial text and "Sold in the U.K. Subject To Resale Price Conditions, See Price Lists" across label at centre, with "Made in Gt. Britain" at foot.

The album is Good condition or better.

So let’s explain how to decode the stampers on a UK EMI vinyl. Typically an original UK Beatles Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band record:

The Matrix numbers

This can be found on the inner/run off grooves typically at six o’clock and would have for example  -1 endings, an example of a matrix, would be XEX 637-1 and XEX 638-1.

-1 indicates the first lacquer that was made.

-2 would indicate the second lacquer that was made –3 the third and so on!

While looking at the matrix numbers at six o’clock we can see a set of markings at three and nine o’clock.

At nine o’clock these are the Mother numbers, for example this could be a number #5. Another number here would indicate a Sub-Mother made from that numbered Mother: for instance, 2    4.

At three o’clock these are the stamper codes:

It is important to note that EMI used a code ‘’GRAMOPHLTD’’ 

G=1 R=2 A=3 M=4 O=5 P=6 H=7 L=8 T=9 D=0

So if for example our Beatles album had the letters ‘G R M’ at three o’clock, the stamper code would be G=1 R=2 M=4 STAMPER #124

So for this album, for sale here, we have the following matrix information:

Album:

Side 1: Lacquer 1: Mother 3, Stampers RTH (297).

Side 2: Lacquer 1: Mother 6 (SLIPPED? OR A SLIPPED 0), Stampers RRA (223).

“The "Fourth Proof" sleeve represents the earliest possible pressing of the Sgt Pepper cover. The Fourth Proof was the final version of the various 'prototypes' that were explored by the Beatles when the cover was being designed. The cover (and text) was approved by the Beatles and an initial very small 'test' run (estimated at 40 to 50 only) was undertaken to make sure everything looked OK. This small test run is characterised by the inverted "Fourth Proof" text in the top right hand corner of the inner gatefold - just above George Harrison's head. This is therefore the earliest possible 'prototype' (test pressing) cover. It was never intended that these test pressing covers should be used but one or two slipped past quality control and are now considered to be the rarest of all the Sgt Pepper covers.”

Or so it would seem, but I've gathered from various sources these were the remainders of pre-production 'proof' batches - to make sure everything for cover production was correct, e.g. the printing facility would get everything set up and manufacture a sample batch (like one or two thousand for example). They were apparently made up in enough numbers that they used them up when the album was officially released.

So as far as the above post source for test run numbers (40-50) - It’s amazing how many copies I've seen turn up on ebay over the years. I would estimate I've seen several dozen come up in auctions easily, and that’s without 'looking' for them. That suggests their numbers were more than the source indicates, most likely up to 2,000 printed and used, not 40 to 50. But how many have survived is open to guessing, and it still remains a very, very collectable item.

PLUS:

Beatles Sgt.Pepper Fan Club Poster (repro):

Full REPRO poster size: A3: 32cm x 45cm, suitable for framing.

HERE IT IS THEN, AN EXACT REPRODUCTION OF A MOST ELUSIVE BEATLES FAN CLUB POSTER, FROM 1967. JUST THE RIGHT COLOURS, RIGHT SIZE FOR FRAMING AND A GOOD WEIGHT OF GLOSSY PAPER, BUT WITH ONE DIFFERENCE; NOT FOLDED!

NOT FOLDED MEANS THAT IT CAN BE FRAMED AND DISPLAYED MORE EASILY.

IT IS MY INTENTION TO SEND YOUR UNFOLDED POSTER ROLLED, WRAPPED IN TISSUE PAPER, IN A HARD PLASTIC POSTING TUBE, along with:

PLUS: Sgt.Pepper Inner by The Fool Poster (repro):

Originally a Dutch group called the Fool made a design for the centre fold of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album.

Miles: "Simon and Marijke painted a dream landscape of stylised mountain peaks and wonderful birds, like an LSD-influenced Chinese willow-pattern design. The sky was rainbow-ed with two oval panels for text, one of which was filled with stars and comets. A further empty panel had a flower border with a peacock draping its tail over the side. Tiny figures of the Beatles peeped out from among the flora. The style was Euro-psychedelic, owing much to Mucha, Beardsley, art nouveau and nineteenth-century children’s book illustrations. Unfortunately they got the dimensions wrong, but even with a border added, the work looked somehow second-rate. The Beatles, however, loved it."

But Fraser saw it differently. He felt it would be judged by posterity as simply another piece of sixties acid art. Robert suggested a series of portrait shots instead. For this picture the Beatles all looked in the camera and tried to express a feeling of love to their fans. "And that’s what that is," declares Paul "if you look at it you’ll see the big effort from the eyes".

Here's an interview by Dutch Beatles expert Azing with Simon Posthuma (The Fool), made in March 2, 1996.

Azing: Can you describe the design? We have no idea what it looked like.

Simon: It was very colourful. It was a gatefold (three-part) cover with a square filled with dancing people and many rainbow colours. Very lovely - like everything in those days. Flower power, you know?

Azing: What happened to the original design?

Simon: John took it and hung in on the wall at his house. I think it's still on the wall at Yoko's.

So, there's little chance that it's published anywhere, but still, has anyone ever seen it?

REPRO:

Full poster size: A3: 32cm x 45cm, suitable for framing.

HERE IT IS THEN, AN EXACT REPRODUCTION OF A MOST ELUSIVE POSTER. JUST THE RIGHT COLOURS, RIGHT SIZE FOR FRAMING, ON A GOOD WEIGHT OF GLOSSY PAPER, BUT WITH ONE DIFFERENCE; NOT FOLDED LIKE A GATEFOLD ALBUM!

NOT FOLDED MEANS THAT IT CAN BE FRAMED AND DISPLAYED MORE EASILY.

IT IS MY INTENTION TO SEND YOUR UNFOLDED POSTER ROLLED, WRAPPED IN TISSUE PAPER, IN A HARD PLASTIC POSTING TUBE, along with the Fan Club Sgt.Pepper poster.

All items will only be sent to be signed for, separately: that is the album and contents, and the two posters together in a tube.