ORIGINAL PRESSING THE FIVE KEYS ON STAGE 1957

$

75

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CAREFULLY READ THE DESCRIPTIONS BEFORE BIDDING, THANK YOU!

Most of the albums you will be viewing are from my 50+ year old collection and are original issues. Sometimes I include albums given to me or purchased from friends or relatives. I do not go to swap meets, garage sales, or thrift stores. I do go to record conventions as time permits. You will be bidding for very rare, original issue and quality albums. Sometime I will list rare re-issues or later pressings. They will be stated as (re) in the listing. I use Goldmine Standard Catalog as a grading guideline and tend to get conservative.

All records are played through prior to listing for accurate grading.

GRADING GUIDLINES

(NM or NM-) NM records are shiny with no visible defects such as writing, stickers or needle marks on the labels. The album cover should have no creases, folds, seam splits or any signs of human handling. It also will have no ring wear.

(VG+) or (Excellent) May show some slight signs of wear, including light scuffs or very light scratches that do not affect the listening experience. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are OK. Minor signs of handling are OK. The cover might be marred by a cutout marking, small hole punch, a cut in the spine or a promotional stamp and even a tiny bit of ring wear.

(VG) Have more obvious flaws such as lack of gloss, groove wear, light scratches and needle marks. When played there will be surface noise that will not overpower the music overall. Noise in the passages, between songs is common. The cover may have minor seam splits, writing, tape, stickers, ring wear and scuffs.

(VG-) Is just a compounding of the VG category. Many obvious flaws but if the record is rare, may very well be worthwhile. I usually do not list records lower than the above grades.

Remember, when you are bidding, most of these records are usually 50+ years old and have been out of print for a very long time. When you consider that, damage, loss, and normal use or wear has reduced the market to the point that few of these wonderful treasures are even available today.

I ship worldwide and accept Paypal, Cashier's check, or personal check. My auctions usually close Saturday or Sunday and I ship the next day (Monday morning) with a delivery confirmation or Customs Declaration. If you are not getting your albums within a few days, check with your post office.

I will ship worldwide and accept Paypal, Cashier's check, or personal check and will ship on the day of settlement. Due to the value of my collection, I will help save you shipping fees. I have ordered special album boxes for shipping. All boxes will have four FRAGILE, Phonograph Record stickers. This is an attempt to let the postal people know they are handling sensitive boxes. Albums will have clear covers with new inserts. Thank you for your interest. I hope the information is of value to you. Be sure to review my feedback and PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CAREFULLY READ DESCRIPTIONS BEFORE BIDDING. Thank you and Good luck bidding!

FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTION: You are bidding for a most rare original first pressing of the Five Keys on Stake and recording on the Capital label T-828 in High Fidelity and valued at $300+ NM in the Goldmine Price Guide. This is the Black Label with Silver Print. This is also the cover with Rudy West's right thumb showing at the bottom of his suit coat, giving one the impression that it could be (use your imagination). The group consisted of Rudy West, his Brother Bernie West, Maryland Pierce, Joe Jones, Ripley Ingram and Dickie Smith. The album caused such concern that a new cover was produced with the thumb airbrushed. I have a copy and will put it up for auction at a later date. The thick album cover is in excellent condition for being 52 years old. There is no discoloration, scuffs or tears or wrinkles. Seams have been neatly neatly repaired to protect the valuable record and there is a hint of ring wear. A very nice display cover in anyone's collection. The liner notes in back are very clean as well as the photo of the group. There is a pricing label in the upper left corner.  The shiny record has maintained much of its glossy look and the labels are also very clean, showing only light spindle marks from minimal use. I inspected the record under a 100 watt light and there were no feelable scratches, scuffs or grooves, just some very light surface scratches that did not affect an outstanding listening experience. When played there were no sticks, skips, loud pops or irritating hisses and few hisses between some of the songs. Capital records was known for its use of quality recording equipment in the 50's. Their records reflected that quality. The songs include: Side 1, Just for a Thrill, Who Do You Know In Heaven, Maybe You'll Be There, Tiger Lily, C'est La Vie, Dream. Side 2, Let There Be You, All I Need Is You, The Gypsy, From The Bottom Of My Heart, To Each His Own, Boom Boom. This is a classic album from a legendary group that pioneered the R&B movement in the 50's and based on the Goldmine book, the album is graded VG+ the listening experience a VG+ and the record a very strong VG+. There is no reserve.