Beatles A Hard Day's Night Rare Outlined Stereo Cover

$

700

This is The Beatles 'A Hard Day's Night' LP, Black and Yellow stereo pressing with an outlined stereo sleeve. PCS 3058. This is a mega rare variant of this classic LP. It is likely the rarest version of any Beatles UK LP sleeve. This outlined stereo sleeve was an extremely limited run by Garrod & Lofthouse, one of the two printing houses that printed all the Beatles Parlophone sleeves.

This sleeve was almost certainly printed in early 1965, given that the outline stereo is identical to that on the stereo version of the then newly released 'Beatles For Sale' LP. Also, the style of the liner notes is similar to those on 'Beatles For Sale'.

Trial sleeves, such as this one, were printed and boxed in batches of 50 (rather than the 1000 to a box for stock sleeves). It is estimated that no more than 100-200 of these were printed, and many UK collectors and dealers believe its more like 50 or 100, based on its rarity. This sleeve just never turns up in any condition. In 20 years of collecting UK Beatles vinyl, I have only seen one offered for sale.

Overall I would grade the sleeve EX- but I will describe the sleeve as best I can and, with the photos, let the bidder decide. There are no seam splits, marks, tears, stains, or writing anywhere on the sleeve. The corners are square and sharp. There is very minor feathering of the edges at the throat of the sleeve. There is no deterioration of the colors on the front of the sleeve. If one looks closely you can see the beginning of ring wear but it is light and does not affect the colors on the sleeve. There are a couple of light half-moon creases near the throat of the sleeve but these are very light and you have to look close to see them. In the upper left corner there is a small line where the laminate has started to pull away from the sleeve. Again, this is a flaw that is not evident unless one looks closely. The top, bottom, and left side of the sleeve are in near perfect condition in that nothing has been crushed or crunched and "A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles" is full and clear on the left seam of the sleeve. As can be seen in the photos, the major flaw on the reverse side is storage wear. The flip-back seams are intact and solid.

The record is a post-1964 pressing with The Gramophone Co Ltd. in the rim print and the "Sold in UK..." language across the label. Based on the sleeve similarities to 'Beatles For Sale' described above, I believe the LP was pressed in early 1965. The vinyl is M- with as-new high gloss. It is virtually flawless with no scuffs or scratches. The labels are also M- with one spindle mark on Side 1 and a couple on Side 2. The tiny bit of color you see on the spindle hole on Side 2 is not wear, it is a tiny bit of the same yellow color as the Parlophone name and logo. The spindle holes show no wear. I have had this LP in my personal collection for many years and I have never played it. Judging from the looks of the vinyl and labels, it has had very little time on a turntable. The original Emitex inner sleeve is intact.

During the years it has been in my collection, this LP has been kept in a polyethylene sleeve in a smoke-free, no-sunlight room. This is a very nice copy of this mega rare version of this classic Beatles LP. Buyer to pay actual cost of shipping and insurance.