THE BEATLES - SGT. PEPPER'S LHCB 1ST MONO V. EARLY STAMPERS FOURTH PROOF FAIR LP

	£		180
	$		239

THE BEATLES
SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
PMC 7027
1967 1st PRESSING RARE 4TH PROOF PROTOTYPE AND EARLY 1 A/ 1 L STAMPERS
A particularly rare 1st issue here having being pressed within about the first ever thousand or so (3rd and 8th stampers from the 1st mother) and housed in a rare early Fourth proof prototype sleeve with a patents pending statement to the rear of the sleeve.
The sleeve is actually as rare as they come for Sgt. Pepper; this was from a batch of prototypes for the standard sleeves. What distinguishes this from the rest is the 'Fourth Proof' (the fourth prototype) and 'AR D13217' (manufacturer's code) printed statements on the inner fold-over, together with a much lighter contrast hue for the inner gatefold pictorial of the fab four  ie. George Harrison's tunic appears to be pink and John Lennon's tunic light green. These sleeves are often found nowadays with a burst spine - due to them being test run's. This one has a spine fully intact, in fact the sleeve is in sound condition throughout despite a scuff on the rear panel over a section of the lyrics. That said, it is in better condition than most likely to be found. The edges are neat with no shelf wear and the internal fold-over's are well adhered and clean as is the whole sleeve. No writing or imprints or marks. Would grade as very Good overall.
The inner sleeve is a correct one - a fully intact at all seams and edges psychedelic 'Fools' inner. Very neat, grades as as Very Good Plus having just few minor crease lines.
The original cut-out's card is included and is fully intact and is in Excellent condition. 
The vinyl itself is in Fair to Good condition. There are lots of hairlines and a couple of scratches that can be felt but do not run deep. No needle drops, warping or groove wear, and nothing particularly worrisome. It retains jet black glossy pressing sheen and lies perfectly flat on the turntable. It has obviously received many plays but is not by any means ‘trashed’. It has to be said that finding one with such early stampers in better condition would be nigh on impossible, I've tried but have never seen such an early iteration after years of looking as this particular one with Sgt. Pepper.
The labels I grade as Very Good as the colouration is well retained and the black paper is still quite glossy.  There are no marks or writing. There is a minor amount of spindle point wear and only a few light spindle line traces around it. The KT tax code is still quite bold. No writing or scuffs etc.
It plays fairly decently given its condition, but you would not be purchasing for the audio, it’s more about its historical significance as a very early pressing. There is light background crackle throughout which becomes less noticeable as the album progresses. There are also two or three jumps on Track 1 of Side 1, and a stick on Track 3 of Side 1. Despite this, as always with these heavy-set pressing, the rest is trouble-free and the music shines through and is still great to listen to. The instrumentals and vocal are clear and lucid, and the mono bass is fantastic, and is overall an enjoyable listen.

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I use the record collector grading guide.
The record will be extremely well protected using a professional LP mailer with a stiffener, and I add extra outer padding for overseas orders.
The vinyl will be removed from the original inner sleeve, placed in a new generic one and placed next to the main sleeve and will all be housed in a best on the market gatefold sleeve protecting the sleeve externally and internally.