LED ZEPPELIN - 

4   IV

ATLANTIC

1st UK Press 1971

2401012

The auction is for a formidable copy of Zep 4, barely found now in such fantastic upgrade condition. First press matrices A//3 B//4 with the earliest stampers and "PORKY" and "PECKO DUCK" etched into the deadwax. This is the genuine FIRST PRESS with the correct A//3 B//4matrices. 

Earliest mothers: A//3  1   3  3

B//4    1  2  6

George Peckham mastered this album with Jimmy Page and Phil Carsons from Atlantic Records. Page called back after the session to say how please he was with the results and that he wanted George to master all future Led Zeppelin Lps. his "Porky's" inscription would go on to also appear on latter albums. 

"Four Symbols" spent an amazing 57 weeks in the UK charts. The green & orange label pressing's would far outsell the red and maroon colour early pressing's. The Plum label variants were only available for 12 of the 57 weeks, during which time Atlantic prepared to launch their new labels and the new catalogue numbers.

Label changes usually took place incrementally, with a necessary cross over period needed to bridge the change of the records and covers already in record shops, taking into account the most recent releases that were still selling.

The classic Plum label design was changed by Atlantic to a green & orange colour in March, 1972, when the second pressings of "4 Symbols" were made, with a new catalogue number, 'K 5008,' replacing the first issue's 'De Luxe 2401 012.'

Vinyl: EX+ . Great heavy barely played first UK press vinyl. A sublime heavy glossy vinyl.  Under a strong light only the very lightest wispy retraction paper traces can be seen. Any LP will have this as soon as they are taken out of its sleeve. These are totally invisible in normal light.  The last track "Stairway to Heaven" is of course most wonderful with tremendous depth never heard again on cd reissues, the track plays mint like all the rest of the album!!! I subjected the record to a detailed listen on my high end system and it did not disappoint. This sounded better than any re-issue like only a first press can. Lovely channel separation without any distortion or crackle.  This vinyl will be an upgrade for most and this is close to NM even visually.



Gatefold sleeve:  EX+.  A great gatefold sleeve and the original matt one for this first UK press version. Barely any storage wear. There are NO creases.  This is a very hard sleeve to find in such fantastic condition as it is matt and many owners did not look after their albums properly. This copy is well preserved and has been carefully stored as all other albums from this wonderful prog collection.  A super beautiful spine without any wear at all. The opening is just super crisp. Only the lightest storage wear on the bottom edge, and that's it! A fantastic upgrade!! More from this wonderful collection will be listed in the near future. This looks just immaculate and is an absolute upgrade for most Zep collectors!! Needless to say, NO creases, NO writing, NO tears or damage etc.
Labels: NM.  
This has the original lyric inner sleeve which is a lot darker than later re-issues. Very vulnerable paper like the good old "blotting paper" which most would probably not know of or remember. It has one side seam split,  but is otherwise splendid without any damage or creasing, you won't easily find them this nice without creasing or tears. 




This also has the original inner sleeve which is made of a vulnerable paper much like the good old blotting paper. Most of these have gone missing.  It has the lyric to "Stairway" printed. A lovely item and quite rare in its own right with many replaced by later re-issue copies which have normal smooth paper and are far lighter in colour.

This is a unique investment opportunity!!! The next prog album to go completely through the roof. Finding this album in any condition at all is nearly impossible so late in the day. Get this while you still can. This value of the album is only going to go one way ... up and up ... until it will be totally unavailable at all for a reasonable price.

 

Important : International postage will be registered and insured if over GBP 30.00.  Please wait for my invoice before paying. Postage will be according to Royal Mail rates. Postage is NOT a money spinning exercise for me.

 

Though there are rarely ever any problems with my items, I always try my very best to describe everything exactly!  PLEASE REMEMBER to contact me FIRST,  if you have any problems at all, before you leave feedback and star ratings, so I get a chance to turn any negative experience into a positive one!  I can always happily sort anything out for you, if you let me know you have a problem!  This way no one has to leave Negative/Neutral feedback - and we both walk away happy! Similarly with the amount of stars, anything less than a full 5 * rating is effectively detrimental to a seller's rating as lower ratings will incur higher Final Value Fees  and lower priority in the bidlists eventually making it unattractive to list items on Ebay at all. I know of at least one major previous Ebay seller who has decided not to list via Ebay again. Please do NOT bid if you cannot give me at least 1 chance to sort everything out to your FULL satisfaction in the unlikely event of a problem.  Thanks again!!

 

 

This an excellent investment opportunity!!! Any questions please ask me and I will try to answer soon.

 

 

On 22-Dec-20 at 15:30:02 GMT, seller added the following information:

To the rear the sleeve has the transitional "Kinney" sticker which prepared the remaining first press sleeves for the new catalogue numbers with the new label. These sleeves are actually really very rare in their own right.