JANUS Gravedigger original German Harvest

$

66

Welcome! Here is an original German press of the legendary 1972 Janus album Gravedigger (Harvest 1 C 062-29 433), complete with its original two-sided insert. As you may know, Janus were a British band, but their album was released only in Germany – and a very limited release, at that.

Matrix numbers and mother/stamper codes are:

Side 1: 29 433 A – 1 is the matrix; I can NOT see a mother/stamper.

Side 2: 29 433 B – 1 is the actual matrix, but it appears as 29 433 XX B – 1. Looks like they originally entered this with the Side 1 29 433 A – 1 matrix, then placed an X over the A, adding another X for good measure. As for a mother/stamper, I can see one, but it is VERY faint; I think it is G 3, but would not bet money on it.

Using the > Record Collector grading system, what do we have here?

Sleeve: The laminated single sleeve grades VG+. There is some wear to each corner, with the two corners along the spine being slightly rounded. There are two tiny tears (one 6 mm, the other 4 mm) along the opening edge just above the lower right corner. Some slight soiled ringwear appears near the right edge of the front cover and, correspondingly, near the left edge of the back cover. There is some minor wear along the top edge; this is visible more from the back, where there is some minor soiling. There is also minor wear along the opening edge. Lastly, there are scattered, minor laminate wrinkles, mostly near the edges. No sleeve manufacturer is identified.

I may be making this sound worse than it is, but I really do try to be honest and conservative in my descriptions. I will say that with this being a monochrome, laminated sleeve, with very little imagery in the background, the faults do not badly detract. I have owned this album for several years and have been satisfied with it.

Vinyl: The noticeably heavy vinyl grades Excellent-. There is some low-level crackling, evident mainly on Side 2, whose music is much quieter than Side 1. Random marks on the vinyl do not impact play.

Labels: Both labels are very nice, with only a small, faint smudge on the Side 1 label. Only VERY faint spindle tracking is evident on the labels.

Insert: Yes! The heavy poster-weight insert is present, and is in excellent condition. There is VERY minor corner creasing and general wear, but nothing awful. Slight rippling and faint spotting is evident on both sides; again, this does not detract.

Inner Sleeve: This album has what I believe is its original plain white plastic-lined inner sleeve. A piece of clear tape has been placed on the bottom edge and also on one side edge; this was presumably to seal seam splits. The remaining edge has a small split as well. 3 35/14 is stamped in one corner. The plastic lining remains firmly in place.

And, in the end: This rare album sank into quick oblivion in 1972, but is now recognized as a psych gem. My example would likely not satisfy a collector seeking a Near Mint specimen, but it is a fine overall copy and I have been pleased with it. So, the choice is yours! Please e-mail me with any questions.

Returns: Full return privileges (less shipping and listing fee) if dissatisfied, but I bet you won’t be! Please pay by PayPal. Thanks and good luck!

Shipping: I will ship to ANY country on Earth! Pursuant to my statement above that I am not a dealer, I do NOT gouge anyone on shipping costs. If you are in the USA, figure on $4.00 for good ‘ol Media Mail; of course, you can do Priority, Overnight, you name it. In those situation, as well as if you live outside of the USA, I will take your item(s), with the packaging, to the post office and I will obtain multiple shipping quotes for you (fast, slow, whatever).

Insurance: I will also get an insurance quote for you. I pack things very well, but if you choose to not buy insurance, I will not be responsible if something nasty happens.

Namaste, everyone!