Extremely rare FIRST PRESSING of Miles Davis' Walkin' in near mint condition

$

208

This is an EXTREMELY RARE first pressing of Miles Davis' album Walkin' (PRLP 7076), a compilation album released in 1957 by Prestige Records.The album cover credits the "Miles Davis All-Stars" made up of Horace Silver, Jay Jay Johnson, Lucky Thompson, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, and Davey Schildkraut, all notable performers in their own right. The tracks were recorded on April 3 and April 29, 1954 at the home studio of legendary jazz recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. 
Since Prestige was a small recording studio, not many first pressings of  Walkin' were made. And now, 61 years later, very few copies still exist. Although there are many, many later editions, finding a near mint copy of the original Walkin' is nearly impossible. So how do I happen to have this one, and how do I know it's the "real deal"?
First, the album has been in my possession since the late 1970s. It was given to me second-hand  by the person who I believe bought it new some 20 years earlier. This is substantiated by the penciled-in price of $4.98 on the upper right hand corner of the back cover (photo #3), and the clipping of a review from The New Yorker found inside the sleeve. This review was written, and presumably saved, when the album was first released in 1957 (photo 8). Secondly, the record label itself indicates that it was manufactured by Prestige Records at their 44W 50th Street address in New York City. This is consistent with the first pressing. Later pressings of the same album by Prestige have a New Jersey address. Thirdly, I am an art historian, so I am trained in how to judge age and authenticity based on such things as the glassine inner sleeve, a material used for early record sleeves, the type faces used in the cover design, and the overall condition of the paper of both the album cover and the New Yorker clipping (which also contains a reference to the Eisenhower administration). Everything points to a date in the 1950s.
Now, as to the condition of the recording itself...as the photos show, it has no scratches, smudges, worn down grooves, or defects that I can detect. I do not remember playing this record more than once or twice - and I doubt that was played many times by the previous owner. Overall, it is in excellent condition, showing only a bit of wear and yellowing on the cover and sleeve, as would be expected of an item kept in a record collection for 60 years.
This is a truly rare find or any collector. Do not hesitate to ask me for additional information about this exceptional item, and please study the photos carefully. They show everything about the record very accurately.