Argenta: Espana (Decca SXL 2020 UK Stereo LP 1958) WB ED1 BBB TAS. Near EX

	£		278
	$		368

     

Ataulfo Argenta/ The London Symphony Orchestra

Espana
(Rimsky-Korsakov, Granados, Chabrier & Moszkowski) 

(Decca SXL 2020 UK Stereo LP 1958)

 

This is a UK Stereo 1st pressing LP in great overall condition! It has a fully laminated flipback sleeve which has an extremely thin spine. The "spine text" is on the rear sleeve next to the spine. There is also a "blue border" around the text on the rear sleeve. Only the very 1st UK pressings have a blue border on the rear sleeve. The top & bottom flipbacks have a rounded die-cut area at the centre. The rear of the sleeve has a printing date on the bottom flipback (C.9.58). This means that the sleeve was printed in September 1958. It comes with its original polythene-lined generic "FFSS" Stereophonic company inner sleeve.

The record is pressed on thick vinyl & has black & silver ED1 "wide band" Decca labels. Interestingly, the labels are not grooved. This denotes the very earliest UK pressing of this LP. It is referred to as the "Pancake" label variation. The labels have the "Original Recordings By.." text on them. The record has 1st press ZAL-3521-5E and ZAL-3522-4E matrix numbers. A great LP that is featured on the TAS audio list.

This is a genuine ED1 UK 1st pressing in great overall condition! It has a "blue back border" on the rear sleeve. It also has a 1958 printing date on the bottom flipback. It has the earliest UK "pancake" ED1 labeIs. This means that they are not grooved. It has the earliest matrix numbers too. I have some other rare & collectable UK Stereo Classical LP's for sale too. So please see my other listings. Don't miss out!


Sleeve: There is some mild or very mild rubbing wear to the corner tips. There is some light, mild or very mild rubbing wear on the sleeve opening edges on some areas. This doesn't notice too much. There is an area of laminate peeling at the front sleeve opening. This is near the top. It is not too noticeable. There is some light or very minor fading to the "white" of the rear sleeve. The spine edge is in great overall condition. There are no seam splits on any edge. There is some light, mild or very mild ringwear on some areas. This sleeve is very prone to wear. However, this is a very reasonable copy. Overall, Very Good++ condition.  

Vinyl: Looks to be hardly played! It still gleams like new! There are a few light or very minor sleeve rubs which can barely be seen under a strong light. The inner sleeve, over time, has left some light, mild or very mild dull surface marks on some areas. They are mainly on the play-out dead wax areas. These, again, can hardly be seen under a strong light. EXCELLENT condition. The labels are in Near Mint condition & show next to no spindle wear. The company inner sleeve is in Very Near Excellent condition. There is some light, very mild or very minor ringwear, fading & creasing. There are no seam splits.

I have play tested this LP in its entirety & it plays Very Good+ to Near Excellent overall, & Excellent in many places. It even plays Excellent+ in some places too. There is some light, mild, very mild or very minor crackle noticeable in some quieter places. Any crackle never overpowers the music. It is always very much in the background.

This is a very decent audio copy overall. However, the audio quality of this LP would be definitely improved by a deep down groove clean in a professional record cleaning machine. Visually, the disc looks in Excellent condition. It doesn't appear to have been played that much. Therefore, any crackle is just due to deep down microscopic dirt in the grooves. This has happened over decades of storage. It would play, I believe, Excellent+ and better after a professional clean. It would remove any crackle.


Traceable insurance is already included in the stated P&P price for this listing.

We offer worldwide postage. Discount is given on P&P for multiple purchases. I shall always weigh combined purchases to get a completely accurate price.  So please wait for the invoice to be sent before paying. Please see below for a more detailed description.

    >>  Grading Information All grading is very strict & adheres to 'Record Collector' specifications. However, I have fine tuned them & they are explained below. All vinyl is examined closely under a strong light & play tested on excellent quality audio equipment.

MINT Condition = This is as perfect a copy as you are likely to find. The cover will show no, or next to no, wear. The vinyl will be unplayed or very, very near unplayed.

NEAR MINT Condition = Nearly mint, just slightly under. There maybe some minor paper/ inner sleeve rubs that can barely be seen under strong light. This disc has been played only a few times & has been extremely well  cared for. The cover is nearly perfect - Very minimal wear only.

EXCELLENT Condition = An excellent copy will show only mild, or minor, signs of use. There will be light, or very mild, sleeve rubs that can hardly be seen under strong light. There may be a very small & minor hairline mark in some instances. Play, in most cases, will be excellent or better. There may be some light, or very light, crackle in a few quieter places. The sleeve will show mild, or minor, rubbing wear & ringwear only.

NEAR EXCELLENT Condition = This has been played a few more times but it has been well cared for. There will be mild sleeve rubs which can be seen under a strong light. There may be a couple of minor, or light, hairline marks. Playback will be generally excellent or better. There may be some light, mild or very mild crackle in some quieter places. The cover will show mild rubbing wear, ringwear or creasing

Very Good Condition = Most records that have been quite well played, but reasonably well cared for, tend to fit into this category. This is probably the most varied of the gradings so I have elaborated below.

There may be mild to more moderate sleeve rubs which can only be seen under a strong light. There may be a few light hairline marks but nothing too bad. A quite well played but serviceable copy. Playback will be very agreeable overall. There will be light, mild or very mild crackle in some places. There may also be a few light clicks. A more thorough description will always be on the listing. The record will certainly not be trashed!

The cover will show more noticeable signs of storage or use. There will be mild to more moderate rubbing wear on some edges There could be fading, ringwear or a minor seam split. There could be some mild creasing or mild sticker tears.

Please note that I also use "+" or "-" symbols for this grading. A plus symbol is obviously at the top end of "Very Good" & is really not too far from being in "Near Excellent" condition. The minus symbol obviously means it is at the lower end. This will mean that it is near to being in "Good+" condition. 
>>  Postage Rates

AN INVOICE WILL BE SENT TO YOU VERY SOON AFTER THE AUCTION ENDS. PLEASE WAIT FOR THIS BEFORE PAYING.

(Please note that these prices include packaging costs too) 
Double LPs are classed as two LPs. Also gatefold sleeves, posters, inserts, etc.. can increase postage costs.

Please note that there are now VAT import charges from the UK into all EU countries. Anything under 150 Euros will need an IOSS number. VAT is paid at point of sale. For any items over 150 Euros in value. There will be a customs charge too. These vary, I believe, from country to country. Please check your relevant postal service online for details. Please note that these charges are beyond my control and are the law for outside parcels going into the EU.

All records will be sent in high quality vinyl box/ mailers with at least two card stiffeners either side of the LP or 7" Single. I use a cruciform box for larger orders (3-6 LPs). All parcels will be marked "Fragile" and dispatch time will generally be between 1-3 days after payment.

I will also remove the vinyl from the sleeve & place them in a re-sealable polythene sleeve. In order to prevent seam splits. Depending on the inner sleeve; I often remove the vinyl from the inner sleeve & place it in a separate plain paper, or polythene-lined, plain inner sleeve. I am very conscientious and careful when packaging your LP(s).

I consider my postage & packaging costs to be very transparent & very fair. Packaging costs will generally be between £0.80 to £1.50. I am not adding any further costs for handling, etc...

If you are uncertain about any of the above, or just simply want some information regarding any item, please do not hesitate to contact me. I welcome any questions.

Remember to check out My Other Items Lots of rare & quality vinyl! Most are UK 1st Pressings. It is quite likely that there will be more records by this artist, or records in a similar vein.