LED ZEPPELIN - LED ZEPPELIN II - ATLANTIC 1st PRESS A2/B2 - LEMON SONG

	£		50
	$		66

This record is part of a private collection put together in the late 1960's, 1970's and 1980's which I will be selling over several weeks. There are almost 400 albums comprising mostly rock but with a bit of folk, a bit of jazz and even some pop. I will have at least 50 albums listed each week so please be sure to
check my other listings here.

Information regarding provenance, grading and shipping is below the photos so please read the entire listing before bidding
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II Here we have an album that is rare, super rare or mega rare depending on its configuration!

All sorts of claims and hype are made with this album with many sellers claiming A5/B4 matrix numbers and Killing Floor credit as first pressings which they are clearly not. I'll do my best to explain this one fully so you can decide where it comes on the rarity and desirability scale.

Let's start with the matrix numbers and label info. The matrix numbers are A 2 and B 2 generally acknowledged to be the first pressing. Stampers are 1 1 14 on side 1 and  1 1 2 8 on side 2. There are no other marks on the run-out.

Side One of the label has track 3 credited as The Lemon Song (Page/Bonham/Plant/Jones) which puts it as an early pressing as later pressings were corrected to The Killing Floor (Burnett) after legal action was taken by Howling Wolf's publishers. Later pressing also had copyright credited to Warner Bros and Jewel Music whereas this has 'Copyright Control'

On Side Two track 2 is Livin' Lovin' Maid. The very earliest and quickly replaced pressings had Livin' Lovin' Wreck so this is not the mega rare earliest pressing (just the super rare one!)

The cover is by E.J. Day and is light brown (later copies were a darker brown)

Now onto the condition ...

The vinyl feels quite heavy (150g) and is bright and shiny. Many sellers would claim it as excellent but there are a few needle marks on the run-in grooves and first track but none of them look as if they would affect play. I can't comment on surface noise since I am unable to play the album but any surface noise present would almost certainly be cleared up by a professional clean - remember this album is 45 years old!

The plum and orange labels are in excellent condition. There are some light spindle marks but these can only be seen against the light.

The inner is most probably original and is in very good condition apart from a corner having been cut off. This was once common practice to enable to inner to be put back in the sleeve more easily.

The sleeve is generally very good or better condition but the major fault is that the bottom edges have been sellotaped. There is no wear on the bottom edges so the glue has come apart and in the days before double sided tape or hot glue guns the most common repair was by sellotape. It has been done so as to be as unobtrusive as possible from the front and rear but it is there. The corners and opening edges are rubbed but not to the point of damage. The spine is lightly creased from opening but is fully readable. There is some light rubbing to the front and a light ring mark on the rear.

The condition of the cover is fully seen in the photos so be sure to enlarge them.

So there you have it - definitely a rare one but up to you to decide how rare!




Label ATLANTIC
Catalog No. 588198
Year 1969
Matrix numbers A - 2 / B -2
Other markings -
Vinyl VERY GOOD +
Sleeve VERY GOOD - (see full description)
Inner VERY GOOD -
Additional notes
Photographs may be viewed at full size by clicking an image which will then open in your browser, you may then click on the newly opened image for a full enlargement - these should open in a new window but if not just use the back button to return to the listing

Fully enlarging the photos will  enable the exact condition of the cover to be seen

Provenance

These albums belonged to my brother-in-law who, in the words of Van Morrison, passed "beyond the bridge where angels dwell" back in 2009. He was far too young but would have shrugged his shoulders and said  - who wants to live forever?

Most of the albums would have been bought new between 1967 and 1991 but there are a few that were obviously picked up secondhand in the record shops he used to frequent in London and Southend. He look after his records carefully, had decent equipment and never played anything to death. In almost all cases where there were pictorial inner sleeves the record was rehoused in a new liner so that the original inner didn't get damaged

Close your eyes in fields of wonder
Close your eyes and dream

~Van Morrison

Grading

I do not have any equipment to play these records therefore grading is VISUAL ONLY based on the following adapted from the usual Record Collector gradings

EXCELLENT : The record may show some signs of having been played, but there are no visible marks or scratches. The cover will be almost as new. There may however be very light shelf wear but there will be no defects or other marks

VERY GOOD + : Record is almost EXCELLENT but may have a minor mark or marks that will not affect play. Cover will be undamaged but may be have one or two minor marks or be a little dirty through age

VERY GOOD : The record has obviously been played many times and may have noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD : The record looks to have been played so much that the sound quality may have deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

In the event that a record does not play properly - i.e. has skips or noticeable scratches  - we will happily offer a refund

Cleaning

All records have been cleaned with an anti-static brush to remove most visible dust however static being what it is more dust will have inevitably been attracted by the time the record is replaced so they may need a little more cleaning. Due to their age these records may benefit from proper wet cleaning but this decision is left to the purchaser. There seems to be a consensus that wet cleaning decreases surface noise and improves sound so may be worthwhile if you know what you are doing!

Packing

Albums will be shipped in specially purchased packaging designed specifically for LP's which will hold the record(s) securely without movement and which extends about an inch beyond the sides of the record to prevent damage to corners

Shipping

All items sent by Royal Mail First Class or by Airmail
unless requested otherwise. Royal Mail Special Delivery or Signed For is available
upon request and may be used automatically for high value items

Quantity UK Europe Worldwide 1 £3.75 £5.75 £8.40 2 £7.00 £11.25 3 £8.55 £14.10 4 £5.95 5 £10.00 £16.95 6 £11.45 £19.80 7 £13.20 £22.65 8 £14.35 £25.50 Purchases of more than 8 records will be sent as separate packages at the appropriate rates above
Double albums count as two singles

Royal Mail are now, unfortunately, far too expensive but there is no alternative.
Shipping is more cost effective on multiple records so be sure to check my other listings for other records of interest

Check my other listings here

Happy Bidding!