LED ZEPPELIN HOUSES OF THE HOLY
Original First Press
K50014 A/2 B/2 Sterling

Obi Strip
This my superb copy of this LP, bought in 1973 from my local record shop. I would say it is Excellent Plus, having only been played a few times, and showing little in the way of spindle marks.

Please see the Record Collector grading guide below.
This is A2/B2 and NOT A2/B3 or A/3/B3, being of lesser intrinsic interest and value. The A2/B2 were pressed first, and of fewer numbers and as such has matching 'Mothers' and 'Stampers'.
It has the First Press matrices in the run-off area of the vinyl, and they are:
Side One - K50014 A2, STERLING RL
Side Two - K50014 B2, STERLING RL

STERLING, refers to the record being mastered at Sterling in New York.
RL: Robert Ludwig, mastering engineer.
What also sets this out as a genuine First Press and many get this wrong on Ebay, is that there are
no markings of any kind on the front, back or inner sleeve, nor the spine. Atlantic Records, much against Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's wishes, issued an ‘Obi’ style strip to identify the group and album title. In reality Page & Plant were a nightmare for the retail side, as there had to be some way of visual labelling! However, it was dropped for subsequent pressings, probably more due to cost of printing, sticking and manually having to put onto hundreds of thousands of records!

Inner sleeves are textured heavy card and carry a credit to the printer: MacNeill Press Limited. An Atlantic Records Distributed By WEA, credit, and Superhype. Along with Jimmy Page as sole Producer.

Label notes:

Copyright statement within orange segment.
No ‘WEA’ logo after copyright statement.

Made in UK on labels. Superhype Publishing, which was dropped in later presses, and Produced by Jimmy Page.

All subsequent presses had the copyright statement encroaching into the green segment, 'W' logo after statement.
The gatefold sleeve is mat, and full orange.
A nice LP and collectable, hence the price and also the price of postage, as this has to go Guaranteed First Class, fully insured, next day, signed for.
I am not listing or selling outside of the UK, so there are exclusions. If you wish to collect, you are welcome, but this is cash on collection. The record can also be listened to.

Any questions, please ask. I will try and answer them.

Record Collector Grading System

Mint

Never been played and item possibly still sealed.

Near Mint

In brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. Cover and contents perfect.

Excellent

Shows some signs of being played but very little lessening in sound quality. Cover and contents might have slight wear or creasing.

Excellent +

Very Good +

Better than Very Good. Obviously been played but no significant deterioration in sound quality despite light surface marks. Very little wear and tear on cover and contents, no major defects.

Very Good 

Obviously been played many times but no major deterioration in sound quality despite noticeable surface marks and occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on cover or contents, no major defects.

Good +

Better than Good: Sound quality has deteriorated but with no distortion. Light scratches and occasional mild scratch. Cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges but not spine splits or discolouration.

Good

Sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion. Mild scratches. Cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration etc.

Fair

Still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise - it may even jump. Cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.