Sold Date: August 23, 2020
Start Date: August 13, 2020
Final Price: £22.00 (GBP)
Bid Count: 5
Seller Feedback: 101
Buyer Feedback: 8

This is the sought-after 1963 issue - an early pressing, in the year the album was released - in very presentable condition. Some wear to the vinyl and sleeve, as you’d expect for a record that’s nearly 60 years old, but all said and done, it’s in pretty good shape.

This record has been in my collection for almost 15 years but much as I liked it, it never became a favourite, so I’ve hardly played it. It’s probably only had between 10 and 20 spins in all the time I’ve had it. Another of those cases where I’ve thought “this needs to be in my collection” rather than “I love Bob Dylan”. Right now, I’m selling the records that I don’t really play because this year has not been great for my finances and at the moment, money is more important than owning stuff.

I always thought that this was an early issue but I didn’t know for sure until I looked into it recently - and all the signs are that this is a very early pressing, and that it’s a 1963 issue rather than the later versions from 1968 onwards. Combined wisdom from - dare I say it - Discogs (surprisingly) and a superbly detailed site called Searching For A Gem (SFAG) - a Bob Dylan collectors’ site which delves into the study of label design, matrices and suchlike in excruciating but massively helpful detail - indicates that this record was pressed in 1963. Here’s my reasoning: It’s a mono version for starters, and it has matrix numbers as follows. Side 1: “62193-4A-1” and “A31”; side 2: “62193-3B1” and “C4”. These are among the earliest numbers seen by contributors to SFAG. The label has the speed as “33” rather than 33-and-a-third; again, this is a feature of the 1963 presses according to SFAG. The letters BPG appear on the label but not in the matrix. The sans-serif type on the label points to this being a 1963 issue rather than the later 1967/68 versions which used a serif font (again, source: SFAG). I’d recommend that you research this for your own verification but my research leaves me with the firm opinion that this is a 1963 issue.

The vinyl itself plays reasonably well but there are some crackles, and minor distortion on some louder parts. No skips, just aural patina. Visually it’s actually fairly clean with only very few light marks. See photos for details; both of the two main marks are clearly pictured, and there aren’t any others of any significance.

Insofar as the sleeve may be used to identify the date of issue, it gets interesting because this copy doesn’t have the three external-facing folds on the reverse, which was a feature in some of the 1963 presses. There’s an instance of this featured on SFAG which is discussed on the site and, in that case, is thought to be a 1963 issue. Likewise, the clues on the label and matrix indicate that this is a 1963 pressing, and putting my item together with the SFAG example, I’m inclined to think that there was some crossover at the point of manufacture where variants of vinyl and sleeves were mixed according to availability. The fact that the matrix bears the numbers 3/4 - an indicator that the record was pressed later in the year - supports the theory that the factory had started using newer stocks of sleeves when this disc was pressed. The printer’s imprint and the letters GB at the bottom right of the reverse side of the cover indicates that this is a UK release.

With regard to condition, the sleeve does have some wear but it’s in reasonably good shape: good gloss sheen with only minor creasing near the edges; firmly gummed; worn spine; small tear at top centre edge; chafing to corners. Despite these minor signs of wear, it looks pretty good overall, and not bad at all for 57 years old. Please zoom in on my original photos to see the exact condition. Again, I’m erring on the side of caution with regard to grading so this is rated Good Plus. I’ve taken plenty of photos so I’d hope that these visual representations are more helpful than a verbal grading.

The inner paper sleeve is a CBS sleeve from a 1965 record but it’s not the original - it’s from one of my Woody Herman albums.

This well-presented 1963 issue has been stored upright and away from heat and sunlight, and hardly played in the 15 or so years I’ve owned it. And of course, this record is nothing less than iconic - a significant part of contemporary folk music history.

Sent in a card record mailer with the record and inner sleeve removed from the outer cover.

COMBINED POSTAGE ON ALL LISTINGS: BUY UP TO FOUR RECORDS AND PAY NO MORE THAN £3.99 POSTAGE (UK only, RM 2nd Recorded). Lots of similar items listed. If you want to buy a whole bunch of them, then bid on the ones you want and request a combined postage at the end of the auctions. If you’re buying more than four records then the shipping cost by economy courier will be £6.99 (UK only, excluding Scottish Highlands, NI and UK islands).

FAIR POSTAGE PRICING: Cost shown is as per Royal Mail tariff plus about 25p to cover the cost of packaging and for driving to the Post Office in the next village.

RETURNS: I’m not a trader, I’m a record geek whose record collection has grown out of control - so I’m having a clear out of my hundreds of records. Despite having no obligation to accept returns as a private seller, I will do so in the event that items are misdescribed. I’m a good egg and I look after my punters. I’ll always disclose flaws but if it turns out that I’ve missed something then I do hold my hands up.

PHOTOS are all original, taken by me specifically to show the condition in honest detail. No nicking images from Google - all my listings have original photos showing the very item, warts and all, with special effort made to highlight any flaws. (Yep, I’m a photography geek too! I worked on white background product photography for many years.) Oh, and I never, ever airbrush out any defects, so every crease, speck of dust, whatever, is there to see. So please do zoom in to see exactly what you’ll receive.