JAN DUKES DE GREY -MICE AND RATS IN THE LOFT Ex/Ex/1stP

	£		150
	$		199

The "Mice and Rats in The Loft" LP on Transatlantic Records Ltd. ~ TRA 234 by "Jan Dukes de Grey" ~ (Stereo 1971)

This has the matrix numbers "TRA 234 A-10" on side 1 and "TRA 234 B-10 " on side 2, with Mother numbers "1" and Stamper letters "R" on both sides, indicating a genuine first pressing copy of this very hard to find LP; (if the Transatlantic codes are similar to the other UK record companies at the time, this copy is from only the second Stamper set from the first Mother pair, so a very early copy indeed!!)

This auction then is for an extremely early first pressing copy in very good playing condition, which I have very rarely played as I did not dig it, but it’s a one-off and a great example of progressive Acid-Folk Rock and very original, especially in respect of the way acoustic guitar is used in a heavy electric riffy way, together with some fairly esoteric acoustic instruments and an orchestra!
(In it’s way the combination is more psychedelic than the early PINK FLOYD - I know because I remember both bands!!)

It comes in a good gatefold cover with it’s original weird *clear record sleeve in plastic affixed to the spine and an intact record cleaning sponge in place still, (they usually deteriorated very quickly as the plastic broke down and most of the copies of this record have surfaces marked by the sponge as it was withdrawn)
* AVPACK, patented by The Sound Packaging Partnership (!) - the idea was to clean the record each time it was used, a nice idea but badly implemented and it was soon discontinued!)
The record itself is very clean on both sides, with barely any spindle marks on the labels because I have owned this from new and played it just a handful of times and consequently it has a tight spindle hole. It weighs 129 grams.

VERY unusually, it has NO sleeve marks on the record surfaces; there is no surface noise, no crackles or pops, no jumps and absolutely no scratches. (I have just played it twice really LOUD to check it properly and cannot find a fault at all, it plays really well and clearly, with no sign of distortion or wear as I expected).
There are no creases, folds or tears on the cover and no sticker marks or writing and really minor shelf wear and corner bending, (see the pictures).Using the Record Collector grading system; the vinyl is thus Excellent on both sides, as is the integrated sleeve and cover.

I saw this band a couple of times only, once somewhere where I had no idea where I was, (that often happened back then!), and once at The Roundhouse in 1971 and liked their blend of heavy acoustic rock and folk and so bought the album, but I found it less interesting than the band live and so rarely played it, but nevertheless, it’s a real ignored classic of it’s genre.
They often supported THE WHO at Student Union gigs around the country, so that gives an idea of how well they were thought of at the time!

All my records are from my own personal collection, built up since the early 1960’s and have genuinely been played very little and then only on quality turntables, (Garrard Zero 100, Lab 80 and Goldring GL75), set up with a low tracking force, using Shure, then Grado then Stanton cartridges over the years. All records have been dry stored, vertically, in the dark and only ever played by myself.If you are interested in early British R & B and Progressive Rock Bands and the USA West Coast bands of the time then please add me to your favourites as I do have some rarities that I have never seen on eBay. I generally do not go in for all the b******s about rare first pressings and the excessive detailing of group histories that I see other sellers boring eBay members with, but have put more details in than usual as this band are not well known, and will describe the records honestly, just indicating the basics.

The packed weight of this item is estimated at 600g and signed for postage via 2nd class Recorded Delivery is shown as £2.62 to UK addresses, insured to £34.00, (if the final value goes over this, then I shall send it Special Delivery in the UK, insured to £500.00 at £6.00).
LP’s are now packed sealed in a water protecting bag and protected using stout recycled cardboard with double edge stiffeners which is more work and adds a bit to the packed weight, but I found this method to be far superior to the available record mailers and I want my buyers to get their records undamaged.
No packing charges are added; you just pay what I pay!

NB: This item may be picked up in person, or will be despatched securely, so it will need to be signed for on delivery; I will not send it care of a business address without written acceptance of your liability for loss, theft or damage, nor to a PO box.
Carriage charges, where indicated, are for zone 1 UK post codes only. If you are in other zones or are an overseas bidder, you can get an estimate of carriage costs by checking with the www.royalmail.co.uk web site, entering the package dimensions and estimated volumetric shipping weight shown above and choosing the International Shipping options, plus an additional insurance fee if appropriate to the item's final value, but please note that additional packing may increase the packed weight and hence the actual cost.

Payment may be by bank transfer, Pay Pal, cash if collecting in person, or cheque, but please note that I am now very reluctant to accept cheques over £100 net and am also advised by the bank that I must wait at least 12 working days for clearance on both cheques and bank transfers before items can be despatched or picked up; this means that items will not be released on average until two weeks have elapsed from a transfer or a cheque's deposit at the bank, so please be patient! International buyers paying by PayPal should expect to pay their International fee on JUST the shipping part of the transaction, which I will add to the eBay invoice in accordance with eBay rules.
NB: If you wish to pay by postal order(s), you should be aware that these are treated exactly the same as cheques now and so you should contact me first before sending any.

Please confirm your full address when completing the transaction via the eBay and PayPal notes system to avoid delays on despatch; I now check identifies before sending items because of fraud attempts

 You can also forget it if you think I will fall for money laundering attempts. All attempts at fraud or deception will be reported and the perpetrator blocked at once.

NEW POSTAL RATES FROM 8th April and from now I will also use heavy duty mailers, so the green postal details bit now reads.......

The packed weight of this item is estimated at 490g and signed for postage via 2nd class Recorded Delivery is now shown as £2.35 to UK addresses, insured to £34.00, (if the final value goes over this, then I shall send it Special Delivery in the UK, insured to £500.00 at £5.05).
LP’s will now be sent in the heaviest grade of mailer available, (600gm) with double board stiffeners, each LP will be protected with a waterproof plastic bag and this is charged at an additional cost of £0.62 and will take up to 3 LP's safely.
No other packing charges are added; you just pay what I pay!