EAST OF EDEN Mercator Projected MINT PROG rare LP psych

	£		227
	$		300

EAST OF EDEN - MERCATOR PROJECTED, issued on DERAM/THE DECCA RECORD COMPANY LTD., LONDON in 1969. This is THE VERY FIRST PRESSING of the UK ORIGINAL STEREO EDITION SML1038. The cover is in MINT- to EX+ condition, and the record is in enjoyable MINT condition.

RARITY: "MERCATOR PROJECTED" is arguably not the rarest original UK pressing in DERAM/DECCA catalogue, but I consider this particular copy quite rare, due to it`s mint condition. Those of you, who are familiar with this pressing are likely to be aware, that it`s very difficult to find a perfect copy of this LP, playing from start to finish with near CD-like silence, due to a great number of very quiet passages throughout the album, filled with acoustic instruments, like flute, violin, bagpipes, recorders etc. In my opinion, any EAST OF EDEN original pressing in decent condition is worthy of attention.

THE MATRICES: Side ONE- ZAL8688 1W, Side TWO- ZAL8689 1W.

THE STAMPERS: Side ONE- 1B, Side TWO- 1C, indicating one of the first copies ever pressed.

THE INSERT: The original DECCA POLYLINED BLUE (indicating a stereo edition) insert is in MINT condition.

UK TAX CODES: "JT" DECCA UK tax codes are at 12 o`clock on the dead wax on both sides.

THE COVER: I would grade the original, front laminated MOORE AND MATTHES LTD. cover with "pinched" corners on the spine as MINT- to EX+. There`s no spinal wear whatsoever - the spine is fully legible without yellowing, no bent/dog-eared corners - all the corners on both back and front are wonderfully straight, no tears, no grubbyness, no signs of restoring/retouching, and (goes without saying) no writings or sticker residue of any kind. The reason for grading it MINT- to EX+, rather than MINT- straight, is due to very moderate ringwear (on the front only) and couple of laminate creases, perhaps unavoidable feature of all laminated covers. It is however only minor reservation - in my opinion, it`s one of the best laminated covers for 41 years old record that I`ve ever seen.

THE LABELS: stunningly beautiful DERAM LARGE LETTERS LABELS, with UNCLE DORIS MUSIC PUBLISHING CREDITS are in MINT condition. Both sides have been checked meticulously under 100 watt lamp. Side ONE has NO spindle trace lines whatsoever, side TWO has only 1 superficial spindle trace, visible only under bright light, and at ANGLED POSITION ONLY. There is absolutely NO sticker residue or writings of any kind on both sides.

THE VINYL/VISUAL INSPECTION:  graded as MINT, once again, checked thoroughly under 100 watt lamp at an angle. Normally, if you look at most 1960-1970 records under bright angled light, the first thing you notice is a "spider`s web" of paper scuffs and paper trace lines, which originated when the record was taken out of the insert and put back in over the years. This record however is a rare exception - visually it looks like it was just brought from the shop, and IN MY (SEMI)PROFESSIONAL OPINION, THIS RECORD WAS TAKEN OUT OF IT`S SLEEVE ON JUST SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND WAS PLAYED JUST 2-3 TIMES AT MOST. Of course, a lot of thanks here go to good folks at DECCA, who provided polylined inner sleeves for their records, thus minimising friction between the playing surface of the LP and rather coarse paper, used for printing the inner sleeves. There are no fingermarks, dirt or anything like that on it. This is a vintage DECCA record - massively pressed on thick vinyl and manufactured to the highest standards, it still has this magnificent original lustre and at an angled light shines like new.

THE VINYL/PLAYGRADED: The lp was playgraded (TWICE) on my high-end system including MICHEL GYRODEC with SUMIKO BLUE POINT SPECIAL CARTRIDGE, with the following results: I`m pleased to say that SIDE ONE is playgraded as MINT and SIDE TWO as MINT-. Perhaps I have at this point to elaborate on the system of grading that is currently used by the sellers on the internet. I think you`ve noticed that sometimes it can be rather vague, and basically it is an imperfect and somewhat flawed way of describing the condition of the LP. Partially it is due to subjective nature of the listening process in itself and consequently grading, i.e. - one guy`s "near mint" is another guy`s "barely excellent minus". Also, grading is heavily influenced by the quality and set-up of the record player (especially it`s cartridge) and at times, erm... by the desire of the seller to get as much as possible for his/her record. I think for the most expensively priced lps, like the one offered for sale here, more detailed grading system should be applied. For this particular listing, in view of how high a starting bid is, I would ask you to adopt 10 point scale, where 10.0 is a compact disc like "black silence". So, if we can agree on this 10 point system - I have no reservations to playgrade the lp advertised in this listing as - SIDE ONE: 10.0., SIDE TWO: 9.5. I would also like to point out, that to avoid buyer`s disappointment I PLAY GRADE ALL RECORDS VERY (and I mean VERY) LOUD, so that all audible imperfections would reveal themselves. I`d like to assure you that I`m very critical and perhaps even too unforgiving a grader, and I`m confident that you will agree with my grading, allowing 0.5 point either way to the 10.0/9.5 points I awarded to this lp on the 10 point scale. It is my firm view that, when playgrading a record one should disregard the fact whether the record is rare or not and it should only be judged on its own merits, regardless of how many copies of it were pressed. To put it another way - "the proof of the pudding is in the eating", you know what I mean? Anyway, without further ado - I`m happy to playgrade the lp as an overall STRONG CONFIDENT MINT.

FINAL THOUGHT: I realise that a lot of people do not enjoy long-winded descriptions like this one here, some probably will not have enough patience to read up to this point. In my defence, I should say that descriptions like "it`s a record... it plays... I think..." are equally irritating. At least detailed description gives you an opportunity to get some insight about the seller, as well as about the product, this way you are able to form an opinion whether the seller is honest, careful and meticulous enough person, for you to trust him/her with your hard earned money. I`ve had my fair share of dealing with rare records over the years, and it is my sincere and impartial opinion that it will be very difficult for YOU THE COLLECTOR to find another copy of this album offered in such great condition. My starting bid is high, but I am of the opinion that it is justified. Happy bidding!

BORING STUFF: Paypal is preferred, but all legitimate ways of payment (as allowed by Ebay rules) are considered. Postal insurance is required for this item, it is included in the prices shown - UK £4.00, Europe £10, Worldwide £13.50.

On 31-May-10 at 17:20:18 BST, seller added the following information:

I`d like to add here more information about DECCA matrix, mothers and stampers that can be found on the LP listed here.

THE MATRICES: Side One-ZAL8688 1W, Side Two-ZAL 8689 1W - number "1" before "W" indicates that it is the very first MASTER LACQUER made from the ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES for manufacturing process, letter "W" identifies HARRY FISHER, as the cutting engineer who created the master lacquer and supervised the manufacturing of the record.

THE MOTHERS/STAMPERS: are without doubt the most important feature to look for, if you`re trying to find a record with the best possible sound quality. Number 1 METAL MOTHER used for this record is the earliest mother made from the ORIGINAL MASTER LACQUER, and it is generally accepted that it has better sound quality than subsequent mothers. But perhaps the most important thing of all, for finding the best sounding lp -  is looking for the record with the LOWEST STAMPER NUMBER possible. It is a well known fact, that from each metal mother there were about a 100 stampers made, and the quality of sound deteriorated as the numbers went up. Same as EMI, who used GRAMOPHLTD letters to identify the stampers used for pressing, DECCA had similar system based on the word BUCKINGHAM, where letter "B" (used for the lp listed here) indicated the very first stamper used, letter "U" 2nd stamper, combination "BU" 12th stamper and so on.

Once again, I realise that not every record collector is interested in such technicalities, but I`m sure that a winning bidder of this auction will appreciate my reasoning, and explanation of exactly why his record is THE EARLIEST AND THE BEST SOUNDING COPY OF THIS ALBUM.