Henryk Szeryng Plays Fritz Kreisler LP Mercury Living Presence SR 90348 E+ Cond.

$

32

Greetings everyone! Thanks for stopping by another of my record auctions! I appreciate that you made the time in your busy schedule to check out the goods! I’ve been doing this on ebay for the past 8 years of so, and it’s always fun to have folks show up and see what’s available…though it’s more fun to get what I have sold, and into your hands! Your business is always appreciated, and that’s not just lip service! So let’s see what I’ve got for you folks this time!

This time up, I have a 1963 LP release on the Mercury Records label, label #SR 90348 (this is the “Living Presence” version in Stereo) by Henryk Szeryng, titled “Plays The Music Of Fritz Kreisler”. Well, that’s what it says on the label and back cover. The front cover just states “Fritz Kreisler”, while the spine has this listed as “Plays Favorite Violin Pieces By Fritz Kreisler”, so you can take your pick of titles, in any regard, you would not be wrong. This is not my first time listing an LP my Henryk Szeryng, although I do hope this listing turns out better as the previous one-as it failed to sell. But when I spotted this while doing some record hunting on my vacation earlier this year, I saw this LP and when I saw it was a Living Presence Stereo LP in nice shape, it was an easy choice to add to my to-purchase pile. The music on this is primarily Szeryng’s violin playing, although he does have some occasional accompaniment on piano provided by Charles Reiner. It’s glorious and genuinely gorgeous to the ears, as you can just about hear the box as it’s applied to the strings, and when it does, it’s about as lovely as melodies can be. This, coming from someone who is not really much of a classical music aficionado, but on occasion, enjoys the tranquility that certain LPs of this genre can provide. The playing surface is in quite nice shape, only a few very light scuffmarks appear on the outer portion of each side, and these proved to be harmless as both sides did play through flawlessly, and without any noticeable background noise. This is quite easily good enough to earn my E+ grading! That’s my grading though, and my grading is considered non-standard. If you are considering placing a bid, please read the paragraph that follows this one, as it will show you the gradings and their respective descriptions. It won’t take long to read, please do. The cover does show some storage and ring wear, as well as some abrasions, and a small hole at the upper corner, close to the opening, denoting it’s “cut-out” status. The spine and seams show some wear as well, though fortunately, no splitting. If you need more pictures or description, I can and will be happy to provide. If you have any comments or questions, please send them to me, and I will reply as soon as possible.

My Grading is as follows: M (Mint)-ONLY for Still Factory Sealed Records ONLY! No 45 nor 78 will ever get this grading. E+, minimal wear, perhaps only needs cleaning. E, a few light marks, maybe some minor background crackle and/or hiss. E-, light marks, crackling (nothing major), scuffs, etc.. Not great, but still quite playable. V+, More marks, scuffs, needle marks, scratches-but nothing that would make the needle skip. Will have background noise that even with a cleaning will still be around. V. Worn. Scuffs, scratches, can be noisy, but still (probably) won’t cause the needle to skip nor get stuck. V-, Noisy? You bet! Worn? Oh yeah. Playable? Sure, but don’t expect it to sound all peachy keen. P. Bleah! Playable perhaps, but do so at your own risk. Don’t trash a new needle on it. Only used on records considered rare enough for “fill in” purposes to a collector-or to those who do digital restoration. 

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-U.S. BUYERS!!!!
All items I sell will be sent with postage printed up from eBay. This way, the prices are automatically listed for customs purposes and cannot be altered. Yes, this does mean that the customs people will know the value, but since I get a bit of a price break on postage, I can keep the prices low for you-the buyer.  I will not "mark item as a gift", just so you can evade import rules.  The people at my post office know me, and they will check overseas packages for inspection.  I hope you will understand my position about this, my apologies if you are not able to comply.

Also, international bidders, the price listed for postage on my listings are for domestic mailing.  I wish I could send overseas for that price, but reality speaks different.  I place a fair price on all international postage.  Watch for the invoice if you win.

ALSO-I need to let international bidders know of a certain problem that doesn't always happen, but will arise from time to time.  All International mail sent from this region has to go through the U.S. Postal Service sorting center in Sandston Virginia, by our local airport.  This sorting center has been named the least efficient sorting center in the entire U.S. Postal Service.  They prove this from time to time by mis-routing packages.  If this happens-and I will monitor the delivery-usually it will add at least an extra week for it to arrive.  If there are any problems, please contact me first, and I will do what I must to make sure you are satisfied with the order.
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Folks, I have lots of records for sale/auction here on ebay, but I also have another outlet that I use as well, where items I haven’t listed elsewhere, and occasionally things that have been listed (but not anymore) here as well. I work for a record store as you may already know, and my boss has been putting out one of the largest, if not the oldest record auction in the Mid-Atlantic area. If you look online for RecordSmith auctions in Richmond, VA, you can easily find the site. If not, or if you’d like any information, you can always contact me through the ebay message system, and I will be glad to get that information for you. Hey, I love my boss, and love working there. So I don’t mind doing some “shilling” for him, and I’m certain he (and I!) would enjoy your participation and business!