INCREDIBLE STRING BAND The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter RARE ORIG UK 68 MONO LP.

	£		80
	$		106

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Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all, and records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time as most record buyers will already know. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS including full side protection and bubble wrap, the records removed from the covers of course. All this very safe packing means I lose money on every box I post, but safe delivery is, and will always be paramount. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives. Also, I will pay for insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received if possible. PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT send any item, no matter what its value without a Royal Mail or courier tracking number. ALL my items must be signed and trackable to comply with Ebay delivery rules. Please do NOT ask me to make any exceptions to this rule as no country offers 100% reliable service without it.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take longer from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business.

ANY ITEM or ITEMS TO BE PAID WITHIN A MAXIMUM OF 6 DAYS or they will be cancelled – NO EXCEPTIONS.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion, as will any bidder who cancels a bid. Please only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND

Album Title: The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter

Producer(s): Joe Boyd

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Koeeoaddi There; The Minotaur’s Song; Witches’ Hat; A Very Cellular Song.

Side 2: ‘Mercy’, I Cry, ‘City’; Waltz of the New Moon; The Water Song; Three is a Green Crown; Swift as the Wind; Nightfall.

Label/Format: Elektra – original orange and black format with matt surfaces. Side one is quit smooth, side two is textured.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with deep colour and minimal traces of any spindle marks. Any traces are ultra light, very few and faint giving strong assurance this has been played very little. This reinforced by the clean and little marked playing surfaces which is crucial for a delicate acoustic album like this. My play-grade proved a delight, this a difficult album to find in this condition, mono copies especially so.

Catalogue Number: EUK 258

Mode / Speed: Mono / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 156 grams. This is a heavyweight record, way above average for title and even label.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: First issues with insert are scarce, especially mono copies that still offer very clean sound. An acoustic album with quiet passages and vocal intensity. Fewer examples survive the era to still offer pleasing clean sound. This plays very impressively with hardly anything to fault, and includes the insert.

Original Year of Release: 1968

Matrix Nos: EUK 258 A1 / EUK 258 B1

Musicians: Robin Williamson – vocals, guitar, gimbri, penny whistle, percussion, pan pipe, piano, oud, mandolin, Jew’s harp, chahanai, water harp, harmonica; Mike Heron – vocals, sitar, Hammond organ, guitar, hammered dulcimer, harpsichord; Dolly Collins – flute organ, piano; David Snell – harp; Licorice McKechnie – vocals, finger cymbals.

Brief Artist & Album Info: In terms of folk-rock history, The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter is a landmark recording and highly original, arguably the very best from the slightly out-there Incredible String Band. This beautiful and challenging album surprisingly sold quite well peaking at 5 in the UK (but only a miserly 161 in the United States). This is not a commercial album and it’s not for everyone, even dedicated folk fans – their complex song patterns and changing music structures, with a use of exotic and unusual instruments are not easily appreciated straightaway. Like all quality albums, some have to be worked on and perseverance pays off with repeated listens for this unique band, sound and record. A duo at this early time, Robin Williamson sang vocals on his own songs and played plays a host of instruments. Mike Heron, again sang vocals on his own songs – a gifted duo that wrote many classic songs that were often covered by other artists. A beautiful recording, wonderfully produced by Joe Boyd, this first pressing, in mono will rarely be found that offering very clean sound. No loud volume for masking sound flaws or issues, this is flamboyant folk music with an edge and passion and this is a notoriously difficult record to find that plays well – this copy really does. Even clean little played examples can disappoint and often flawed by invisible pressing issues, I never take for granted any copy of this until sound-checked which can often prove a nervous time. I am delighted to say this plays beautifully with little to fault with no pressing issues or hidden noises. The cover is a delight and naturally attractive – I always show the reverse side, which many consider the correct front. It perfectly captures the true essence of this record. The inclusion of the elusive folded insert, which is guaranteed original, is always a bonus, it’s so often missing or torn. One of the folk classics to be treasured, it’s one of my personal favourites within this genre.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: and arguably better. A fully laminated single format and this one has the correct mono catalogue number. Manufactured in the UK by Polydor and includes the single folded lyric insert and plain white inner sleeve.

Cover Laminate – Front & Back: One of the classic 1960s covers, and one that does it fine justice. The laminate retains excellent shine, fine freshness and clarity with any dulling around the rim area only light as seen under angled light. As is usually the case, there is some lifting on the spine, this on the Heron/Williamson side with with none on the other. This is moderate but with minimal cracking and no peeling. Being on a plainer area of the cover, it shows less than it could have. There is some fine, mainly light laminate creasing, again it registers little with normal full-on viewing, and little detracts from this vintage attractive cover. This is thinly made and will aways prove difficult to find much better.

Top Edge: Very thin, but still quite straight with smooth laminate that has no chipping or wear.

Bottom Edge: Very close to perfect.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, still mainly sharp with minimal traces of thickening, also guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced. Record enters on this edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, mostly straight with negligible compression, the ends are nipped in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn under the solid and uncracked laminate, this beautifully centred on the narrow depth. I have seen some examples of this cover where the spine is so flat, the text is only seen viewed from the back, I consider this one near exceptional and still white and clear.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light, hardly any really Excellent or better shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: One of my favourite album covers of the 1960s, it captures the mood of the music perfectly, and this one does it fine justice. I do not consider laminate lifting wear as such, laminate naturally shrinks and tightens with age, and lifting was even often present from new. I have seen this cover with far more lifting than on this one and it seems particular prone to it and rarely escapes with none. This attractive item should please many collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a plain white unlined inner that has aged with darkening of the paper. Both window circles undamaged, crisp and neat, the paper hardly creased. All edges naturally intact with no repairs.

The Lyric Insert: EXCELLENT(+): an impressive example, hardly creased and aged little. Any traces of toning tiny, very little and faint. One manufactured fold which is strong and unsplit, all edges and corners neat and crisp. No writing and hardly any blemishes of note at all. Quite an elusive insert and so often missing, this sets a high standard and remains an integral part of a first issue copy.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(+): arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and heavily pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any surface traces few, very light and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, barely anything even registers. Visually a super record that should please many, if not most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing equipment, all listed further down.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This heavy-pressed classic folk album, that many critics rate as one of the best ever, plays even above it’s high visual grading with hardly anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Pressing quality for this album is crucial, the acoustic songs are sometimes complex and some quiet. There are few places for blemishes to hide, and delighted to say this copy has no need for any. Any blemishes are minimal – the odd sporadic one-off click will rarely be avoided, as the barest minimum on this quite long and challenging set. Few available copies will match or outperform this early first pressing, especially in mono I feel sure. One often ruined by penetrating deep scratches by those heavy-tracking mono record players of the time, this one appears little played and avoiding such issues. Both channels are clean and sharp when played on a standard stereo system. I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been generally well stored and carefully handled. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2 grams. Records are a ‘contact’ format, and few will avoid the odd minor sound blemish.

I am one of the most established sellers on Ebay, trading since 2001 and offering the finest records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty all elements of the items I offer for sale. You may notice I only submit records quite sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade – visuals alone do not always tell a true story. I will try to mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same – just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are the item being offered with no digital enhancements. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. I hope the item below is to your liking – any questions can be emailed and I will do my best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, major warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 805 Nautilus (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable) with REL subwoofer. All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Nessie vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D7500 DSLR Camera.

PACKING – THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid bid retractions. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I only accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 2 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive – if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund if the item is returned in the same condition is was sent e.g. as per the listing pictures.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.