BEATLES - WHITE ALBUM - 1st UK PRESS MONO - SUPERB WIDE SPINE COVER - COMPLETE

	£		275
	$		364

Please read the Terms and Conditions lower in the listing about payment, postage costs and insurance BEFORE placing a bid. Thank you.

I am happy to answer any questions, but please read the listing carefully before sending a question or placing a bid. I try to provide comprehensive details and information in every listing so the answers to most questions should be found below.

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During nearly eight years of trading on ebay, I have received around 2,600 positive feedbacks from over 2,000 individual customers, almost all from the sale of vinyl records.  Until recently I had 100% positive feedback, but I have recently received a totally unjustified negative feedback. Please see my page if you want the full story.

I take great pride in ensuring that my items are always described accurately and fairly. All my items come with a full money-back guarantee - if it's not as described, you can return it for a full refund. 

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PLEASE NOTE: THERE ARE 12 PHOTOS IN THIS LISTING. USE THE SCROLL BAR BESIDE THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE THEM ALL AND USE THE 'ZOOM' FACILITY TO GET A CLOSE-UP VIEW.

The Beatles records that I am currently selling were all owned by the same person. She was not a 'record collector', just an original Beatles fan. All these albums were bought new and therefore have had only one owner before I acquired them. Although the records have been played, they have been well looked-after, and the covers, in particular, are among some of the best examples that I've seen.

Each album individually is a very collectable example, but together they make up one of the nicest original Beatles collections that I have come across.

Lovely example of this 1st pressing which is complete throughout and includes the finest wide spine cover I've ever seen on a copy of the White Album. Most copies of the White Album have the standard-width spine (approx 6mm), but a small number feature the impressive wide spine, which is flat and square. This is the widest and squarest one I've ever seen and is approximately 12mm wide.

This has the following 1st press matrix numbers:

Side 1: XEX 709-1

Side 2: XEX 710-1

Side 3: XEX 711-1

Detailed description
Vinyl: The vinyl looks great and has retained its original high sheen. It has clearly been well cared for. Under bright light, hairlines, fine marks and scuffs were visible, including a long hairline on either side of disk one, an area of slightly more-prominent marks on side two and a few other small marks elsewhere, but there is nothing bad anywhere. This copy does NOT have the 'birds-nest' of lines and marks often found on original Beatles albums. I have played the entire record and it sounds excellent, with a warm, 'fat' bass sound which is perfectly demonstrated on tracks like 'I'm so tired' or 'Savoy Truffle'. There is some background noise and crackle which can be heard in the quiet parts and the run-ins/outs, fades, silent grooves and intros and the occasional random click. There were several places where I noticed a few soft clicks for a few revolutions, but there was nothing that lasted longer than four or five revolutions with the exception of eight soft tics in 'Bungalow Bill', eight (barely audible) in 'Julia' and about thirteen in the quiet start of 'Revolution 9'. But there is absolutely nothing loud or intrusive anywhere. Other than this, there were a few tracks where I noticed some fuzz or a bit of top-end distortion (the later tracks on sides 1 and 3 and 'Goodnight' on side 4), but there is nothing unpleasant or over-powering. This is a superb example and was a real pleasure to listen to. Many parts grade Near Mint but taking into account the bits that grade lower, a representative play-grading for the album as a whole would be Excellent (Ex). A more-detailed individual grading for each side is provided here:

Side 1: There is some soft background noise and crackle which can be heard in the quiet parts and the run-in/out, fades, silent grooves and intros and the occasional random click. There were a few brief repetitive tics as follows: three in 'Dear Prudence', a few random clicks in the fade to 'Glass Onion', eight soft tics in 'Bungalow Bill' and some soft crackly clicks in the background during the fade to 'While my guitar gently weeps'. But there is absolutely nothing loud or intrusive anywhere. Apart from this there was a slight swish in the Spanish guitar intro to 'Bungalow Bill' and some fuzz during parts of 'While my guitar gently weeps' and 'Happiness is a warm gun' but there is nothing unpleasant or over-powering. Other parts of 'While my guitar gently weeps' and 'Bungalow Bill' sound superb, as do 'Glass Onion', 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da' and 'Wild Honey Pie'. Up until the last couple of tracks I would have play-graded side one as an EASY Excellent (Ex). The last couple of tracks individually grade around Excellent minus (Ex-), but I would still play-grade side one overall as Excellent (Ex).
Side 2: There is some soft background noise and crackle which can be heard in the quiet parts and the run-in/out, fades, silent grooves and intros and a few places where you get one or two random clicks. There were a few brief repetitive tics as follows: five (really quiet) in the fade and silent groove at the end of 'Marth my dear', three in 'I'm so tired' and five in the fade to that track and intro to 'Blackbird', some tiny, background tics in 'Rocky Raccoon', three in 'Why don't we do it in the road' and eight (barely audible) in 'Julia'. But there is absolutely nothing loud or intrusive anywhere. I would play-grade side two overall as Excellent (Ex), or just under.
Side 3: There is some soft background noise and crackle which can be heard in the quiet parts and the run-in/out, fades, silent grooves and intros and the occasional random click. There were a few brief repetitive tics as follows: four (barely audible) in 'Birthday', a few tiny tics in 'Mother Nature's Son', four in 'Helter Skelter', and a few in 'Long, Long, Long'. But these are all really, really quiet and there is absolutely nothing loud or intrusive anywhere. Apart from this there was some slight fuzz in 'Sexy Sadie', the beginning of 'Helter Skelter' and in 'Long, Long, Long' but there is nothing unpleasant or over-powering. Side three starts off sounding Near Mint (NM) and ends up sounding Excellent minus (Ex-), so my overall play-grading for side three is Excellent (Ex).
Side 4: There is some soft background noise and crackle which can be heard in the quiet parts and the run-in/out, fades, silent grooves and intros and the occasional random click. There were a few small tics in 'Honey Pie' (mainly in the "Can you take me back" outro), thirteen soft clicks near the very quiet start of 'Revolution 9' and a few other crackly clicks a bit further on which are quickly drowned-out as the volume increases and three tics (barely audible) in 'Goodnight'. There was also some slight fuzz in the latter parts of 'Goodnight'. However, the beginning of 'Goodnight' and the loud sections of 'Revolution 9' sound Near Mint, as does 'Savoy Truffle'. Much of side four would grade as Near Mint (NM), but taking everything into account I would play-grade side four as EASILY Excellent (Ex).

Labels: The labels look superb with absolutely no signs of damage, writing, stickers etc and just light spindle marking. Side four has the KJT tax code.
Sleeve: The sleeve is really nice and clean with no damage, writing, splits, tears or stickers etc and just light signs of use. There are some laminate creases near the front opening and small creases around the edges and corners and slight shaping around the disks. The rear cover has a one-inch dent near the centre which looks like a dark mark (see photo 3) but is only a dent and has not damaged the laminate or card in any way. Inside the gatefold, the inner spine does NOT have any evidence of vertical creasing often caused by attempts to straighten-out the wide-spine when it has become flattened. This copy shows no indication of any flattening and the spine remains solid and square. There are no splits, tears or flaking to the lamination apart from a small area (less than half-an-inch) at the bottom of the spine. Other than this the wide spine is fully covered by the laminate and even though there is some laminate lift along the spine it has not split, flaked or peeled anywhere apart from the small area at the bottom of the spine as already mentioned. This is the widest and squarest example of a wide spine cover that I have ever seen for the White Album and for it to be so well-preserved and intact is quite remarkable. There is nothing else to say about this superb cover, which is easily the best White Album wide spine that I have ever seen.
Edge wear: top openings/spine/bottom/leading edges: light/minimal/minimal/light. There is very little wear to the laminated edges and spine apart from at the corners. The spine is solid and firm with some wear at the corners and a small area of laminate peel at the bottom, but is otherwise in superb shape and the text is all 100% readable. There are just normal signs of use at the top-openings.
Corner wear: There is light-to-moderate corner wear, but much less than I have ever seen before on a wide-spine cover.
Poster: Has never been displayed so NO pin-holes, sellotape etc. Has some minor signs of handling and storage, but no significant issues.
Photos: Four photos which have never been displayed so NO pin-holes, sellotape etc, just some minor signs of handling and storage, but no significant issues. These also have the blank 'spacer' page and are all assumed to be original although the photos for John and George seem slightly lighter-weight than the ones for Paul and Ringo.
Inner sleeves: Original black Apple inner sleeves. These have no seam splits or significant issues and are the best pair that I have seen. Both have some small tears around the centre hole, but there are no other tears or splits. One has some small clear spots in one corner which look like candle wax has been dripped on it, but this is very minor and is only mentioned for the sake of completeness and accuracy. These are the best original pair of Apple inner sleeves that I have seen.

Detracting features not covered above:  None. This is a superb, complete example and I think it would be very hard to find a better one.

Please check out my other items and take advantage of reduced postage costs for multiple buys.

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Information about descriptions.
My items are always described accurately and fairly. I always do my best to point out any blemishes which might detract from the item and all photographs are of the actual item you will get.

Play-graded vinyl: I play grade records where possible but I don't have time to play them all. I always state in the listing if I have played a record prior to describing it.

Visually-graded vinyl: Unless specifically stated in the listing, vinyl is visually graded.  A visual grading will identify physical flaws (such as scratches) and can help determine whether a record has been cared-for properly. I always do my best to give a fair assessment of any visible marks on the playing surface, but a visual grading will not identify noise or crackle caused by non-visible sources. Most of the records I sell are between thirty and fifty years old and so it is likely that there may be some background noise even if they look perfect. Please see Terms and Conditions below for my refunds policy for visually graded records.

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I have some very simple terms and conditions. Please read them and ensure that you understand them before bidding. Thank you.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

• My items are fully guaranteed - if it is not as described you can return it for a full refund, including postage. Refunds for visually graded records which are returned based upon the buyer's assessment of the record's playgrade, will not include postage costs in either direction.
• Your bid is binding, so please make sure you have READ and UNDERSTOOD the WHOLE LISTING before you bid. I will not accept returns where the buyer has not read or not understood something which is stated/shown in the listing.
  
• I accept Paypal and postal orders (in UK Sterling GBP) for all purchases.  I also accept cheques (in UK Sterling GBP) on orders OVER £50.
• Please pay for your item within three days of the auction closing. If you are intending to bid on other items and wish to pay when they have closed, please contact me to let me know. I reserve the right to cancel any transactions and offer the item to the second highest bidder if no contact or payment is made within three days.

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POSTAGE & PACKING

I care about the records I sell and believe that they need to be carefully and securely packaged to ensure that they survive their journey through the post. Vinyl is removed from the sleeve for posting and the contents will be protected with rigid cardboard stiffeners. All packages are labelled "Do not bend" and securely sealed with "FRAGILE" parcel tape.

I support the use of recycled materials and so I may send some items in packaging which has been previously used or which has been made from other cardboard packaging. If you wish your item to be sent in entirely new packaging please let me know before paying for it. Thanks.

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P&P charges

I need to cover the cost of postage and packing materials, but I try not to charge more for packing and posting your item than it actually costs me. I do not view P&P costs as a means of making money.

However, to quote an exact cost for every LP is difficult because of the wide variance in weight (e.g. Abbey Road weighs around 230 grams whereas Led Zeppelin III weighs around 390 grams). But the majority of single LPs, when packed, will weigh around 500-550 grams and I have based my P&P rates on this.

Occasionally, you may end up paying a few pence more than it actually costs me and occasionally you may end up paying a few pence less than it actually costs me. If there is a significant discrepancy in your favour I will refund the difference.

Double LPs will be charged as two LPs, triple LPs will be charged as three LPs. Box sets etc will be charged according to weight.

UK P&P costs

UK Standard service - items valued below £50 are sent using first class recorded post. The cost for this is as follows:

One to four LPs (with a combined total value below £50) = £4.50.

First 7" or CD = £2.50, each additional 7" or CD add £0.50


UK Special Delivery - Any order valued over £50 will be sent fully insured using Royal Mail Special Delivery and the total cost of this will be £8.55 for one to four LPs and £11.40 for five or more LPs . Please wait for my invoice before paying.

Any order valued below £10 can be sent using second class standard mail, free of charge.

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Airmail (with tracking and insurance) to any country OUTSIDE the UK

Europe

First LP or 12" = £11.95, each additional LP or 12" add £2.00.

First 7" or CD = £8.80, each additional 7" or CD add £0.60.

Rest of the world (anywhere outside Europe)

First LP or 12" = £15.95, each additional LP or 12" add £3.50.

First 7" or CD = £10.00, each additional 7" or CD add £0.90.

Overseas orders weighing more than 2kg or valued over £500 may be split into two or more packages as appropriate so they can be sent using Royal Mail's Small Packet Rate, so please wait for my invoice on larger multiple purchases.

Customs declaration for overseas orders: Please note that for overseas orders outside the EU I need to complete a customs declaration and must enter the value of the package on the declaration.

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 If you have any queries please email BEFORE you bid.