DAVID BOWIE / Hunky Dory LP - UK 1st Press EX- Rasputin 3T Titanic / No Mainman

	£		40
	$		53

A lovely first pressing copy of one of the greatest albums of all time, with the original 3T matrices and the sought-after 'Bobil/Rasputin' signatures in the runout. This is the first issue, bar a few laminated early copies, and bears the 'Titanic' credit which predated the founding of Mainman. It plays well and looks great. If you're looking for a perfect mint copy, this one's not for you, but if you're after a nice clean first pressing that'll play well without breaking the bank, look no further.
ARTIST:   David Bowie
TITLE:   Hunky Dory
YEAR:   1971 LABEL:   RCA COUNTRY:   UK CAT. NO:   SF 8244 (LSP 4623)
DEAD WAX:   Bobil  APRS 5947 3T  A2V   //   Rasputin  APRS 5947 3T  A1AX
ALLMUSIC:   https://www.allmusic.com/album/hunky-dory-mw0000189509 DISCOGS:   https://www.discogs.com/David-Bowie-Hunky-Dory/release/4641620
SLEEVE:   EX- VINYL:   VG+ INSERT:   EX- INNER:   VG+
VINYL: Visually, the disc has a fair bit of light, superficial wear and some light scratch marks here and there, visible under bright directional light. None of it appears to affect play, though, with no skips or jumps, and I did not hear one repeating tick or pop. As with most (if not all) of these Rasputin 3T Hunky Dorys, there is a fair bit of light, staticky surface crackle in the pressing; they are notoriously difficult pressings from a particularly poor year for vinyl quality in the UK. On this copy, it is mostly noticeable in the quiet bits and transitions on side A. It isn’t terribly invasive though, and the music itself still reproduces with vivid colour and warmth, big bass and generally great dynamics. Side B plays like a dream, with very quiet gaps. Altogether, a very enjoyable listening experience, and a great player if you’re not too bothered by the sound of '71.
  SLEEVE:    Sleeve is in fine shape, with no splits, tears, writing or sticker marks. It has some light surface and ring wear to the front black areas. The spine is sharp and perfectly legible, with three or four little crease lines along it. There is one slight thumb crease at the front opening, and a slight corner crease visible on the rear, bottom right. Very moderate edge wear along top and bottom seams and moderate corner wear. Please see the pics. It’s a strong VG+ or EX-, nowhere near mint but still lovely. Inside the jacket is a tidy little rubber stamp from its original retailer, CHAS J FOX PIANO CO. LTD, which I gather was a general household wares outfit in Yorkshire, where the Spiders were hometown heroes with a special following early on, pre-Ziggy.
  LABELS:    Labels are close to perfect, with just a smidge of spindle wear. Shiny orange RCA labels with the original Titanic publishing credits.   INSERT/INNER:    The insert is lovely, with just some light handling and one tiny white spot to fault it. The presumably original white inner is a little yellowed and rumpled but it has no splits.
I grade conservatively under bright directional light, play-test everything from start to finish, pack very carefully, and guarantee my records. So bid with confidence.
Good luck and thanks for looking.

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BEFORE YOU BID:
I am happy to answer any questions, so please ask away. I will ship within two days of receipt of payment, and expect payment within three days. 
All records are from my own personal collection. I'm not a dealer, just an experienced collector, who's fussier than most. Images are of the exact object you are bidding on.
I offer a no-quibble return policy. If you are unhappy with the item, please just let me know as soon as possible and we can sort out a solution. If the item is as described but you decide you don't want it, the buyer pays return postage for full refund of item, plus original P&P. If you sincerely feel the item to have been misgraded or misdescribed, I will pay for the return postage too, provided it comes back in exactly the same condition in which it was originally sent out. I have yet to have an album returned though. 
Please do NOT leave negative or neutral feedback without giving me an opportunity to sort out any problem that might arise. Oversights and differences of opinion happen from time to time, but I try to be an honest grader and want all buyers to walk away happy.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Your records will arrive very securely packed against damage from both outside and in. They'll be clean and packed in fresh new inners and outers. No grubby old shit.

Each LP is removed from its original jacket and inner, and placed in a fresh new polylined inner sleeve. The disc and the paper parts are then placed in two separate outers, with a cardboard stiffener between them to keep the disc from impressing itself on the outside of the sleeve. Further stiffeners and/or bubble wrap are then placed either side, and bundled together to secure the package against outside impact or crushing. I use either sturdy cruciform mailers or purpose-made wraparound mailers. I don't use card envelopes or old recycled cardboard sandwiches. I also use plenty of FRAGILE tape. 
I have never had any problem with this method, and I guarantee all sales against damage just in case. 

PACKING & POSTAGE RATES:
UK:   £5.00 first LP, 2nd Class Signed For.  EUROPE:   £9.00 ALL OTHER COUNTRIES:   £15.00
If you buy more than one album I will gladly combine postage, but please wait for an invoice from me before paying. It won't take me long. Combined postage: + £1.50 per additional LP. Doubles always count as 2.

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GRADING:
I grade carefully and do my best to list every flaw that might be of concern. I do not use a thousand + signs or exclamation points. I also don't believe in grading anything M which is unsealed, so my highest grade for a used record is NM. Also, I won't tell you a record is in great shape "for its age", which is a hustle. Mint is mint, and wear is wear. Grading is subjective but not arbitrary or relative. 
NM Like new. The item shows little or no visible or audible signs of use. No scratches, bumps, splits, or creases beyond what you might find on a new record, with everything present and in nearly-new condition. Some natural ageing of materials may be allowed (such as yellowing of paper or laminate shrinkage), but not if it is the result of bad storage. This is what a record might look like after it's come home from the shop, been played with great care a few times and stored away in a safe place without incident. 
NM- / EX+ 
EX Vinyl retains its original lustre, but may have a little spindle wear or superficial sleeve marks (whisps), without any significant lessening of sound quality bar the odd light tick. Faint marks which are not obvious at a passing glance and which do not sound are allowed. Jackets or inners may have minor creasing, bumping, laminate lift or faint ringwear or edgewear, but are basically unmarred by any careless handling, abuse or neglect. No tears or splits or loss of legibility. A very small and unobtrusive bit of writing may be allowed. All items should be present (inners, inserts, etc.). This is the grade I myself am usually very happy with. Very well looked-after and a pleasure to behold.
EX- / VG+
VG Record has been mostly well looked after but suffered some visible or audible wear along the way. Minor scuffs, scratches or surface noise may be noticeable but not ruinous to the listening experience. Briefly repeating ticks or a moderate build up of noise in some parts of a record is allowed, but no ugly skips, jumps or persistent repeats. Spindle wear will likely be evident. Equally, wear to the jacket might include visible ringwear, minor tearing, rubbing, edgewear, corner wear, some flaking, and moderate writing or staining, but nothing hideous. This grade I personally find acceptable for those older, rarer or sturdier-made items which have been around the block but are still a good listen and a pleasure to have around. They aren't trashed, just a little more loved on.
VG- / G+
G This grade is for items that have suffered damage that affects listening pleasure, such as a serious repeating scratches, skips or jumps, or which have visible damage that is ugly to look at, such as serious staining damage, significant spine or edge wear, flaking or rubbing, ugly sticker tears or seam splits, water damage, etc. I would only offer very, very scarce and collectable items in this condition. The record is still playable and may be very enjoyable and acceptable to some. But usually not to me.
NEW TO THIS?  Please understand that even brand new vinyl usually has a little surface noise, it really is part of its character. But a well looked after record will also sound great after a ton of plays.