THE BLACKWOOD APOLOGY House of Leather RARE ORIG US 1969 EX LP with RARE INSERT.

	£		26
	$		34

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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 BLACKWOOD APOLOGY

Album Title: House of Leather

Producer(s): Skeet Bushor

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Swanee River Overture, House of Leather Theme; Do You Recall the House of Leather; Recess With Mrs. Grim; Graduates of Mrs. Grim’s Learning; There is Love in the Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm); Here I Am; She Lives With Me; There is Love in the Country (On the Donny Brooks Farm) Reprise.

Side 2: Time Marches On; Dixie and the War; Death and the Reality; Sarah’s On Her Knees; Theme From House of Leather (Epilogue in Suede).

Label/Format: Fontana with matt, gently textured surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both immaculate, very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly a spindle trace to be seen.

Catalogue Number: SRF 67591

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps or Lateral Movement: Assume all records I offer have no significant warping or lateral movement to cause sound or tracking issues. All should play fine even on budget turntables.

Weight of this Record: 144 grams.

Country of Manufacture: United States [this was never issued in the UK or Europe, only in America and Canada officially]

Rarity: Scarce and rare in this condition with the elusive insert sheet.

Original Year of Release: 1969

Matrix Nos: SR 67591-A-F1 / SR 67591-B-F1

Run-Out Groove Etchings: ‘MR’ [both sides]

Musicians: Dale Menten – guitar, vocals; Tom Husting – guitar, vocals; Ron Beckman – Bass; Dennis Craswell – drums, vocals; Greg Maland – organ, pipe organ effects, keyboards; Bruce Pedalty – organ, vocals; Dennis Libby – piano, vocals.

Brief Info: A somewhat ‘lost’ gem from the late 1960s that only saw American and Canadian release. ‘House of Leather’ is a one-off album by the Blackwood Apology. An early concept album that at times reminded me of the Pretty Things classic ‘S.F. Sorrow’ performed in a pop-psych style. A rock opera set in the American civil war with quite varied music and songs with interesting quality lyrics. Rarely seen outside the US, and even more so in this superb condition. Most American records of this era that find their way to the UK invariably have angle-cut corners, drill holes or sawed edges for tax or deletion references. This one has no such issues and remains fully intact and impressive clean condition. The record appears hardly played with sound to match. It also includes the very rare original insert sheet the a promotional copy stamp as seen in close-up. Those who know the album often state its a real grower, but being honest, I thought an impressive and quite different album on this my first ever listen. A quality pop-psych album with early elements of progressive acid rock, a quite obscure one-off that has largely been lost in the mist-of-time and it deserved so much better.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): an unlaminated gatefold format with matt smooth surfaces. The front single thickness card with entrance for the record inside to the right (thus making it very prone to wear and damage). Printed and made in the United States with Mercury credits. The rare and elusive original insert sheet is included, also a plain white inner sleeve.

Cover Front: Most collectors will know early American covers are prone to all forms of wear and damage from edge splits. Well this is a stunning cover that has been protected from new and the difference immediately evident. This colourful thin card front is little short of immaculate with barely anything of note to fault. The lack of rubbing, creasing, fading and sticker issues is rarely seen on such covers outside of their protective wrapping. An amazing example.

Cover Back: Same again, incredibly fresh and clean with not even a trace of ring wear.

Cover Inner Gatefold: The right dark side has minimal traces of rubbing and little else to fault. The left side has some set-off where dark ink from the right rests upon white which will prove near impossible to avoid as few would have thought of putting paper inside to stop it. This only seen near the top and bottom and possibly as light as it will get. This the only reason a higher grading was not considered. I hardly deem this wear as such, simply a normal trait of such covers where dark ink rests upon white.

Top Edges: Both straight and flush with any thickening little and light. This and all other edges have no splits, thinning or repairs.

Bottom Edges: Pretty much as above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Any thickening to the front thin card is only light with minimal traces of burring. The closed folded back is immaculate. Record enters via the centrefold.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight with minimal compression and folded square, so the edges meet up very closely together and parallel. Not crushed or flattened, just a hint of tilt to right being critical. The text is unworn and the surface and folds show minimal traces of rubbing.

Corners: Any tip rubs tiny and light with better than excellent shape retained with no knocks.

Cover Summary: An incredibly well preserved all-round example of this very fragile 1960’s cover, one that will prove immensely difficult to find better. This rarely seen beautiful item should please most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: NEAR EXCELLENT: a basic plain white unlined inner with no text. One neat corner fold, this often deliberate to stop the record sliding out. A tiny nick on the bottom edge a small blemish, but little else to fault with all the edges unsplit apart.

The Insert Sheet: EXCELLENT(+): a thin paper black and white insert sheet printed one side only It has one fine crease and a fine mark near the top right, that apart superb. As seen, this includes the text: “PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE”, which looks stamped on. Any rubbing is faint, the paper still fresh. This insert is even rarer than the album itself and seldom seen or offered. It is guaranteed original.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: arguably better. A very fine visual copy that is clean with fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy with minimal plays on all the evidence with any actual surface marks very light, wispy and faint as seen critically under bright light. No penetrating stylus scratches, viewed in average room light, hardly anything even registers. Some gentle dulling seen under light probably from many years (or even decades) being stored and undisturbed within the inner. The sound is impressive and clean and any minor visual blemishes have no affect on audio quality. Visually a lovely vintage 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 quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with little 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 a very clean pressing with no tracking issues* or inherent pressing noises. Few available copies will outperform this early first pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has hardly been played and has been superbly stored and carefully handled, almost certainly in a non-smoking environment. Nothing of any note spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this scarce American record. It will prove very difficult to find significantly better and can be strongly recommended. Certainly not one seen often in the UK (or Europe), and a lost obscurity from the past.

* 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.