Thelonious Monk - Genius of Modern Music, Volume 1 / Blue Note, BLP 1510 / Mono, Microgroove, High Fidelity / Deep Groove, "47 West 63rd. NYC" w/ "Inc" and "R" (Labels); "43 West 61st St., New York 23", unlaminated front, blank spine (Sleeve) / U.S., orig. 1956, here ca. 1960 (?) / Matrices: (Side 1) RVG BN-LP-1510-A P 9M; (Side 2) RVG P BN-LP-1510-B 9M / Weights: (LP) 175g; (Sleeve) 90g 

An early VG+/Ex mono issue. Not the 1956 original, as not Lexington address, etc. Yet, RVG is etched, not stamped, and the P and 9M are present. Per Goldmine, there was a 1958 issue with the 63rd Street address, but that certainly lacked the "Inc" and "R". Tentatively dated to 1960, when the sleeve and label address were both in use. The sides are glossy and pretty clean: side 1 is cleaner than 2, with light scuff; side 2 has slightly heavier scuff and some needle mark. Both sides play fairly clean without any significant disruptions: very soft ticks, and some very light static noted. The labels are very, very clean with almost no spindle swipe, and a bit of wax visible beneath the side 1 groove. Pictorial BN inner sleeve. The front of the sleeve is clean with a touch of shadow; the rear has a touch of shadow and light signs of handling at the edges; the edges are clean and undamaged; the corners have pinpoint wear.

ABOUT THIS AUCTION: We recently purchased a NYC jazz enthusiast's small but choice collection of late '50s and early '60s LPs. It's presented here in its entirety (67 LPs). All records are mono, all have been opened and played. Condition varies, of course, but in general this is a listening library, with imperfections running from minimal to serious. What follows are a few notes relevant to the auction as a whole.

TERMS AND CONVENTIONS

"Original" and "early" pressings: we use "original" as more or less synonymous with "first" pressing, but "first" can connote a stronger claim than is warranted with this era's LPs (at least in the current state of knowledge), so we've generally avoided it; by "early" pressing, we mean an issue within a few years of the "original" under the same catalogue number. Where possible, we've guessed at the year of issue, if not "original" and placed that guess in our description. N.B.: ebay's item specifics offer "first pressing" under the "special features" box and we've checked that, where applicable, for lack of availability of our preferred term; we've also entered, in the item specifics, the year of original issue, but in our description have distinguished that from the probable year of our copy.

"Ridge" and "Deep Groove": following Frederick Cohen's practice, a non-DG label is ridged, a ridged label necessarily non-DG.

"The EAR": the cursive Plastylite "P", often referred to as "the ear", has been recorded in the deadwax as "P".

"Etched" and "Stamped": we have not uniformly noted the form of Van Gelder's "RVG" in our description, but we have attended to it in distinguishing originals from later issues; the photographs of the deadwax should be used as a supplement to any omissions in the text.

GRADING

As we said, nothing in a collection from this era truly warrants a NM. Our scale, thus, runs from Ex down to G. Every record was played through in its entirety, attention carefully paid to unwarranted noises. The grade is a combination of the record's look and sound, but I must confess to letting the sound matter a bit more to my grade than the look. The listings detail both visual and aural flaws for the LP, visual flaws for the sleeve. Here's a brief characterization of our grades:

Ex: A record I'd recommend to anyone. Minor and short-lived flaws, I'll allow: a small tick here, a brief passage of static there; but the record must commend itself to me as a throughly enjoyable listening experience with no memorable dissonance.

VG+: A record I'd recommend wholeheartedly but with a caution. A touch more noise allowed, but still kept brief and non-intrusive. In the aftermath, one might say: "The patch of static at the end of S1T2 was a drag, but on the whole, pretty clean."

VG: A record I'd recommend, but with reservations. Remains audible and enjoyable throughout, but a repeat quiet tick might be evident, a small patch of fuzz show up, etc. A copy you're happy to own and play, but you're keeping an eye out for an upgrade.

VG-, G+, G: Records I might yet recommend, but with detailed provisos. Pops or strong ticks, heavier fuzz, etc. NO skips allowed (we don't auction jumpy records). Audible, even enjoyable for significant portions of the recording but with noisy problems at one or several spots.

N.B.: Ebay's item specifics jump from VG to G+, so some grades will appear as VG in the item specifics but as VG- in our title and description.

SHIPPING AND PAYMENT

LPs are removed from their sleeves, inner sleeves provided where needed, bagged, placed between cardboard and carefully and securely boxed. If you'd prefer to have the record left in the sleeve, please notify us of your preference at the time of auction. Shipping charges will, of course, be combined for multiple purchases. Should you prove high bidder on a number of items, please ignore the automatically generated invoice and, if a combined invoice does not follow shortly thereafter, please send a request for combination. All are welcome, but please honor our terms: payment is expected within 10 days from the close of the auction. If you anticipate difficulties in honoring these terms, please inform us of that fact well before the close.

PICTURES

I've used the full complement of 12 pictures per item. The first 3 capture the sleeve: front, back, and spine. The following 6 capture the record: record, deadwax, and label, each side. The remaining 3 focus on problems or, more happily, attractive features otherwise unrecorded.

REFERENCES

It seems only appropriate to recognize and thank those whose research makes an auction like this possible. For the Blue Notes, I've relied heavily, as will be evident, on Frederick Cohen's "Blue Note Records: A Guide for Identifying Original Pressings" (New York: Jazz Record Center, 2010). I've learned a great deal from two sites: londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com and jazzcollector.com. Many thanks to the managers of, and contributors to, these very valuable establishments. I've also dipped into the Goldmine guides for help in dating a re-issue.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

Please see our other auctions.

Happy Bidding and Good Luck!

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