THE SMITHS GREY GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA RELEASED 12' PROOF ARTWORK SLEEVE

	£		110
	$		145

The Smiths.
"Girlfriend In A Coma"
Gloss Paper "Proof" Sleeve. U.K Issue RTT 197
Sleeves were issued by condor litho printers whom were Rough Trades Official printers of these proof sleeves.
Printed on Paper stock i.e. This is what you call the pre proof stage which is before the card proof stage. The paper  measures 25" by 13" and shows the front and back of this iconic sleeve which features British playwright Shelagh Delaney, who's best known for her play Taste of Honey (1958) and the film based on it. Morrissey's said that there's "strange sexiness about her, even with her overcoat on"...
As far as i can make out this looks like the released version of the rarer grey sleeve which appears in the smiths top 100 collectables  except there are differences being the bar code is missing and image of Shelagh Delaney is sharper and the colours brighter in contrast to the released sleeve.
Only 4 of these were printed.
The condition of the sleeve is near mint as i have kept them in professional storage boxes in a cool,dark and damp free environment. Also an added bonus is all my items come from a smoke and pet free home. 
Up for auction is a proof sleeve for the above release for the sole purpose of seeing what the sleeve would look like aesthetically before they went to print. These mock sleeves were printed up for Joe Slee who was the art co-ordinator for Rough Trade Records. I came across these pieces of historic art around 1998 and was just bold over by the history of it all its not everyday you come across items like these and there so stunning to look at and hopefully my pictures will try to allay this to you.
I purchased these items from a person who i cannot name but they did work at Rough trade up and till they closed in the 1990's. These pieces of art pop history are genuine, not re-worked prints i can and will 100% guarantee this and anything else i will be selling.
Hopefully these items will appeal to you as much as they did to me over a decade ago and i think there's something here for every kind of enthusiast and every type of collector from the completest to the occasional collector but i must stress that these individual proofs are very rare and were not made in the 100's they were very limited mostly to only 6 or 7 of each and others that i own are less than that number as they were only made so that Caryn Gough,Joe slee and Morrissey could view them to see if they had the finished product they all liked or to view alternate versions of sleeve. These are very rare items indeed and it's unusual to find any bands proof sleeves never mind The Smiths proof sleeves. Here's a chance to be the envy of the Smiths collecting world.
I have been an avid Smiths and Morrissey collector for over 20 years and enjoyed every minute of collecting you know that searching for an item, the smell the feel and the satisfaction you feel when you find the one or see and hear new things its a great buzz.  I hadn't planned to sell any of my collection until my world was turned upside down as my wife was diagnosed with "cancer" and now i want to start selling my collection to raise some money so i can take her away to New York a place she has always wanted to go. I will be posting items up over several weeks until its gone. So if you like the items I'm posting up on here make sure you keep coming back weekly.

"Girlfriend in a Coma" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching #13 in the UK Singles Chart. The track was the first of three singles from the band's last studio album Strangeways, Here We Come. As such, it was the last single to include newly recorded material on the B-side. It holds the distinction of containing the last recorded Smiths song, "I Keep Mine Hidden". Also included—and recorded at the same session—is a cover version of a Cilla Black song, "Work Is a Four-Letter Word". Morrissey's insistence on recording this song incurred the wrath of Johnny Marr who left the band not long afterwards. The single itself is a tongue-in-cheek, music hall inflected song that clocks in at a mere two minutes and two seconds. Although seemingly "lightweight" and catchy, the song features acidic, ambiguous lyrics. The song also contains peak guitar work by Johnny Marr. The video, which featured clips from the film The Leather Boys (starring Rita Tushingham), was directed by Tim Broad. The cover features playwright Shelagh Delaney from a 1961 edition of A Taste of Honey. The photo was tinted grey for 7"s in all countries except in Australia where it was tinted green as for the 12"s. This was the second time Delaney appeared on a Smiths cover; she appeared as the cover star on the-then recently released Louder Than Bombs album. The song lends its name to the 1998 novel Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland and the 2005 film Girlfriend in a Kimono by Dominic Thackray. The song was used to replace the main theme of The Drew Carey Show in an episode where Drew ended up in a coma after a car accident. 12" RTT197 / Cassette RTT197C No. Title Length 1. "Girlfriend in a Coma"   2:02 2. "Work Is a Four-Letter Word" (Woolfenden, D. Black, C. Black) 2:45 3. "I Keep Mine Hidden"   1:57



The artwork proof sleeves will be posted flat and posters will be sent out in plastic tubes all carefully packaged to help prevent damage.
I will also combine postage costs to multiple winners where possible and i welcome bids from all over the world as i will ship items worldwide.
 All items and/or multiple items over the value of £40 will be sent recorded mail. Sorry no exceptions can be made as then we are all covered if things get damaged or lost GOD FORBID that would be tragic.
If i have missed something out that you need to know however large or small please email via ebay and i will get back to you as soon as i can with an answer.
Please note the auction starts at 99p i've only done this so everybody gets a fair chance of owning one of these spectacular pieces of pop Smiths Rough Trade history.
*******As for the postage and packaging prices quoted they are rough prices so please wait for me to send you an invoice after the auctions end with an exact price, possibly the NEXT DAY.  I can assure you it will be at cost. Its only the insurance that will have to be factored in.You never know it could be less than quoted********
Thanks to all who read this and good luck to you all in collecting and life.