THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, SELF TITLED, 1966 UK ELEKTRA MONO 1st PRESS

	£		108
	$		143

betsy50 Store

Hi, my name is Nick (aka cornerstonevinyl). I have been an avid record collector for many years, building up an extensive collection of mostly blues/rock, psych, progressive and classic rock 1st issue albums from the mid sixties to early seventies period. I have decided to sell off a few choice albums in either the Fixed Price or Auction formats. These offerings represent the crème de la crème of my 35 years of record collecting and are of the highest quality. My grading is strict and any significant defects will be mentioned. You can rest assured that a record that I grade as MINT- will be both visually and aurally as fine a copy as you are ever likely to find (hopefully my feedback and 4.9/5.0 "item as described" rating will bear this out). My descriptions are concise and in accordance with the GRADINGS detailed below. I will not bore you with the unnecessary duplication of song lyrics, and self-respect will not allow the use of ridiculous words like "awesome, mega, hyper", etc., or endless exclamation marks. Customer satisfaction is of the highest importance to me. In the unlikely event that you are not entirely happy with an LP bought from me for any reason, I will refund you in full upon return without any hassle.

From my own personal collection I am pleased to offer an extremely rare copy of the self-titled debut studio album by THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, Catalogue Number EUK 254. This is an ORIGINAL 1966 UK MONO 1st PRESSING on the ELEKTRA RECORD LABEL, with a superb 1st ISSUE FULLY-LAMINATED SLEEVE which was designed by William S. Harvey. [The rough-textured white labels are the earliest possible UK design for this album with green Elektra “E” logos and black lettering. The matrix numbers are the earliest EUK.254.A: and EUK.254.B:].

The sleeve is in EX condition with virtually no wear and only a few light creases. The laminated front and back covers are exceptionally clean with bright unfaded colours. The spine is perfect. Overall it’s a fantastic 1st issue sleeve which will be very difficult to improve upon.    

The top quality Elektra record is in VG condition. It’s a heavyweight 155g pressing which retains a lovely deep shine and rotates evenly on the turntable. Both sides do show a few surface marks under bright light, although these are mostly superficial and do not significantly affect playback. The white Elektra labels are unmarked with a moderate number of spindle traces near the centres. Both sides play to a very high standard. There is barely any discernable deterioration in sound quality and generally only very low levels of residual surface sound. Some of the surface marks mentioned above do cause a few clicks here and there, but these are short-lived and do not really interfere with the enjoyment of the music in my opinion. If you are looking for a perfect-playing copy – this is not the one for you. It is, however, a genuinely rare 1st press copy which plays to a very acceptable standard.

The original plain white inner sleeve is present and correct, but it does have some creasing and wear to the opening edges.

GRADINGS

The records that I offer for sale have been critically play-graded, at loud volume, on a Rega P5 turntable fitted with an Elys 2 cartridge. I will only sell records that play to a high standard. My gradings are strict and in accordance with the following descriptions:

·         MINT- Record is superb, almost like new, with just a few sleeve removal type surface marks and no deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve is near perfect in all respects.

·         EX Record is a top quality example, with just a few very light surface marks which do not sound, and barely any discernable deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve has slight wear and/or creasing.

·         VG Record has some visual surface marks, but still plays to a high standard without any major deterioration in sound quality – just a few clicks or light surface sound in places. Sleeve has normal wear and tear without any major defects but is still very presentable.

PACKAGING        

LPs are packaged with care and well protected to ensure that they arrive safely in the same condition as they leave me. Records are removed from both inner and outer sleeves in order to prevent seam-splits in transit.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE

LPs posted outside of the UK will only be sent International Signed-For with insurance at the following cost:   

Europe - £5.95

Worldwide - £9.30