Beatles White Album Mono UK 1st Press Low Numbered - A Superb Rare Example

	£		282
	$		374

Hello there, come on in and welcome to the auction!

As you can see from my 100% feedback, I sell with complete honesty and reliability.  Above all things I am a record collector and music lover.  I only sell records that I would want to receive. I know well the disappointment of receiving an over-graded record that turns up two weeks late.  That is not the service you will receive here, so bid with total confidence. I don’t sell a lot of records because I spend a lot of time carefully finding, grading and listing them and do not like to rush this process, as many sellers must do to be able to sell 100 records a week!

I am mostly a collector of old time music, pre-war blues and folk, so buy job-lots that often contain rare records that aren’t to my taste so to ebay they go!

(On that note, if you have any early American blues or folk to swap or sell, please get in touch!)

Anyway, enough of the chit chat and on to the record at hand….

The Beatles

“The White Album”

First Pressing November 22nd 1968

PCS 7067/ PCS 7068

Mono

No 0072643

Here we have, arguably, one of the most iconic records of all known western music.

Each song on the sprawling double album The Beatles is an entity to itself, as the band touches on anything and everything it can. This makes for a frustratingly scattershot record or a singularly gripping musical experience, depending on your view, but what makes the so-called White Album interesting is its mess.

Never before had a rock record been so self-reflective, or so ironic; the Beach Boys send-up "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the British blooze parody "Yer Blues" are delivered straight-faced, so it's never clear if these are affectionate tributes or wicked satires. None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, but somehow The White Album creates its own style and sound through its mess.

Here we have a very first UK pressing of that very record!

This is the complete and original package with the MINT four glossy pictures of the band, the top opening sleeve, the MINT large colour poster and the super rare white spacer!

To find a complete 1st press white album is a rarity in itself, but to find one with such a low number as we have here makes this the holy grail of Beatles records!

The top opening fully laminated outer sleeve is the very 1st printing by Garrod and Lofthouse with the embossed lettering to “The Beatles” and the stamped grey number to the bottom left.

Both inner sleeves, as with all 1st presses, are fully black with a die-cut circular opening on one side to expose the Apple label.

The first variation label has the “33 1/3? text at the top line of the left side and “Sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions, see price lists” text. The publishing year is printed with a small copyright symbol (p). As with all first presses the labels are darker than subsequent releases.

All the inserts are fully original and not replicas in any which way.  This is how the record came in the winter of 1968 and this is how it is now!

So with all that we certainly have ourselves here a once in a lifetime, historic piece of music!

Matrix Numbers

Side 1:             XEX 709-1

Side 2:             XEX 710-1

Side 3:             XEX 711-1

Side 4:             XEX 712-1

Stampers.

Side 1:                   4          GH

Side 2:                   3          GGP

Side 3:                   2          P

 Side 4:                    1         GA

Sleeve Condition.

The 1st print fully laminated gatefold Garrod and Lofthouse outer sleeve is in superb condition!  The 1st press sleeves are famous for yellowing but this example is simply beautiful! There are no rips, stains, tears or laminate lift to mention!  The wording on the wide spine is perfectly readable with only very minor wear.  There is some minor shelf wear to the corners, but none to the other edges which remain straight and sharp.  The colours are as vibrant as they were on the day of release.  The inside of the gatefold is in near perfect! There is no writing on the sleeve whatsoever!  The rear of the sleeve is as good as the rest of the sleeve, looking fantastic!  The low stamped No 0072643 sits perfectly at the bottom right, sloping as it should!  This really is a joy to hold! A solid Excellent sleeve!

 Excellent

Inner Sleeve Condition.

The 1st press die-cut black inner sleeves are in lovely condition with no writing, folding or splits.  Some small nicks at the opening edge is the only thing to mention

The sleeves hold the records perfectly as they should!

Excellent +

“Extras” Conditions

The Hamilton collage “lip-stick” poster is in fantastic condition, with no splits, tears or writing at all! The poster has never been pinned to the wall and I hasten a guess that it has rarely been opened!

Nr Mint

The four 1st press glossy original pictures of the band are in fantastic condition! There are no signs of use, no sellotape marks and no writing! Splendid!

Nr Mint

The rare paper spacer that was used to separate the pictures and posters and is so often lost over the years is in super condition There are no rips, tears, writing or folding!

Excellent +

Label Condition.

The first press iconic “split apple” labels are in fantastic condition.  There are no rips, rubbing, writing or stains to mention.  There is no centre hole damage at all.  Under a strong light only very minor invisible spindles can be seen but it is clear to see that these records have been cared for! 

Nr Mint

Vinyl Visual Condition.

On first inspection the records look unplayed!  They all still retain their factory shine and lustre with no scratches or warping at all.  They all have that fresh “just pressed” look” Under a strong halogen light, a few minor hairlines can be seen with some removal marks but nothing that can be felt!  It’s so very exceptional to see such rare records like this in lovely condition!  This has clearly been cared for and played little!

Excellent

Vinyl Audio Condition.

The record sounds superb from start to finish!  There are NO jumps, skips or distortion at all! I heard only the slight static on the run-ins at full volume throughout the whole record and my system picks up every noise!  The dynamics of all the different instruments are so well defined and easily separable by the ear.  There was some occasional static on side one compared to the other that all in near perfect audio condition! This really is how the iconic record should be heard; it’s incomparable to later presses or other formats.  Utterly superb! 

Excellent

So there we have it… One of the rarest and earliest copies of The White Album that you are likely to ever see!

Fully complete with the uber-rare white spacer, poster, pictures and one of the lowest numbered sleeves to be seen for some time!

This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own one of the most important pieces of twentieth century music!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Happy Bidding!

All my records will be sent first class, signed for and insured to their value!

I will package the records with extreme care, with hard stiffeners and the vinyl separate to the sleeve and inner, all housed in a Defenda locktab record box envelope.

 I try to be as honest as I can in my descriptions, taking as many pictures as possible, but if you don’t feel happy with your purchase, I offer no quibble full refunds as soon as the record is sent back.  I will not give partial refunds however, only full.  I think this is fair, Thanks!

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