STEELEYE SPAN Please to See the King UK HESSIAN COVER

	£		27
	$		36

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Postage: UK £4.25. Europe £12. Rest of World £16. ALL signed for. – NOTE: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment. I try to keep my P&P as low as possible after the very significant Royal Mail price increases.

Artist or Band: STEELEYE SPAN

Album Title: Please to See the King.

Producer(s): Sandy Roberton.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: The Blacksmith; Cold Haily, Windy Night; Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn / The Hag with the Money; Prince Charlie Stuart; Boys of Bedlam.

Side 2: False Knight on the Road; The Lark in the Morning; Female Drummer; The King; Lovely on the Water.

Label/Format: B&C (Please see my label scan).

Label Conditions: Both in superb condition: very clean and attractive with any spindle marks tiny, very few and faint and without doubt, this scarce original record has been played very little at all. These very dark matt black labels are ruthlessly reveal any fingermarks and once applied, they are near impossible to remove. These have barely any at all and a lighter played and cleaner sounding copy will prove beyond difficult to find.

Cat Number: CAS 1029.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 140 grams. A very robust and solid pressed record at over average weight.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Quite scarce as an original: these included the ‘Hessian’ textured cover, insert and on the B&C label, soon to be reissued on Mooncrest with a different cover design. So genuine originals were only available for a short period and this did not sell in any significant numbers. Again this cover is beyond fragile and rarely seen looking this nice. The first issues with little worn covers, untorn inserts and hardly played record are very difficult and elusive – that too on a very collectable label.

Original Year of Release: 1971

Matrix Nos: CAS 1029 A-2U / CAS 1029 B-1U

Mother & Stamper Codes: 1 M / 2 G0

Musicians: Maddy Prior - vocals, spoons, tabor, tambourine; Tim Hart - vocals, guitar, dulcimer; Peter Knight - violin, mandolin, vocals, organ, bass; Ashley Hutchings - bass, vocals; Martin Carthy - vocals, guitar, banjo, organ.

Brief Info: This was the second Steeleye Span album, now missing the immense vocal talent of Gay Woods who decided to leave after the classic debut ‘Hark! the Village Wait’. With Maddy Prior now at forefront on vocals the early Steeleye Span now began to develop and flourish. Many folk connoisseurs regard this as a classic and within the folk-rock genre, it sold modestly well and actually charted at No 45. But only available for a brief time on B&C Records before being repackaged and repressed on Mooncrest. Finding really clean copies is hard and always has been – the famous Hessian textured cover is so fragile and wear-prone, it’s a huge challenge to find with little wear and this one looks very nice indeed. Often missing the insert sheet too. The record offers fantastic clean sound and Steeleye Span are not just for folk fans – such is the beauty of their music, all music lovers will enjoy this one.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High++: a cover so flimsy and frail, it bends under its own weight and must never be held in one hand to avoid damage and creasing. The heavy texturing is designed to look like a sack and indeed feels like one to the fingertips. Beautifully designed but lastability was possibly not taken into consideration and only the most carefully stored and protected examples survive to remind of what a once new one looked like all those years ago. Many damaged with price stickers and edges often worn right through and that’s before the ringwear eats into the surfaces. This one has avoided most all these perils as I hope my pictures show.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(+): and this probably undergraded as such. Being so fragile, this is a very impressive grading and has to be put into real context. A single unlaminated format with rough textured, very matt surfaces. Known as the ‘Hessian’ cover, this only available with the original B&C originals. This includes the B&C insert, guaranteed original. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Cover Front: Seldom seen looking this nice – this retains excellent freshness and looks and devoid of the usual rubbing, sticker issues and ring wear. A little very faint corner tip rubs and a tiny rub trace on the top edge (but look hard), that’s about it. I am struggling to see a crease at all and no scuffing or wooliness to an impossibly unforgiving surface. Truly exceptional.

Cover Back: The back is of the same very high standard with any faint rub traces on the right edge (again look hard). How many of these survive without ring wear? Very few I would guess, what a real pleasure on offering this delicate cover so nice. Please see my close-up of the early Steeleye band, this delicate panel is devoid of any wear.

Top Edge: Just a little light rubbing near the ends, any other is ultra faint and little. This is also very straight on such a flimsy cover, that is not to be taken for granted.

Bottom Edge: Light to moderate, but quite neat rubbing. Stating the obvious, this traditional storage edge will rarely escape some friction rubbing.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, sharp with minimal traces of any thickening or burring and guarateed no trimming. A fragile opening edge that will rarely be found a great deal better.

Spine and Text: Solid, quite straight with any compressions light. The ends gently tapered in manufacture, these impossibly delicate areas have rubbed but barely anything elsewhere. The really good news is the text has avoided any damage or wear worthy of note. There may just be the tiniest clip of the ‘S’ in ‘STEELEYE, but if so it is little more than a micron. I can hardly remember seeing any copy of this spine with full text retention, but as you can see on my picture, this fragile text remains intact just to the right of the end rub.

Corners: Quite light to moderate tip rubs, but mostly neatly so. Therefore very fine to excellent shape is retained with minimal loss of pointed definition and no rounding.

Cover Summary: A very fine all-round example of this immensely fragile early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better. I have seen this cover literally threadbare in the past, almost falling apart, tattered and shredded. This beautiful example is a class apart and will please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: the original plain white unlined inner sleeve has only lightly aged with darkening around the edges. In terms of real wear, this has little and has even avoided creasing or edge splits.

The Insert Sheet: EXCELLENT: only marked down for a vertical near central moderate crease. Crisp, neat edges and very clean and barely aged at all. Made on pale yellow card a printed only on one side and with the B&C logo and credits. Printed and made in England by the E. J. Day Group.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a superb visual copy that is very clean, shiny, intense black and quite heavily pressed. A copy that has only minimal traces of any ultra fine surface marks as seen critically under bright angled light. No scratches or scuffs and finding this vintage folk-rock classic better will prove very difficult indeed. Visually a super record that should please most-all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This brilliant folk-rock classic plays up to and most-all even beyond it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even register and no pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing. Few copies will outperform this early pressing significantly I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I am certain this record has been played very lightly and has been clearly well stored and carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. All those lovely vocals and shrill violins are focused, precise and sharp, and that never easy on records of this age. No heavyweight damaging old stylus have been neara this record. A copy that will prove very difficult to find better and can be strongly recommended – do not underestimate the rarity of such a clean B&C example of this lovely issue.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand+ based on over 8,000+ items sold in over 10 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please as me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.25

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16 (£17 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.