Beatles & Frank Ifield On Stage authentic 1964 Vee Jay portrait cover Monarch

$

2,247

• ARTISTE, RECORD TITLE  AND LABEL: 

 Beatles & Frank Ifield On StageVee Jay VJLP 1085 ( Made In United States)

This is an authentic mono copy of the Beatles portrait cover. I suppose a few details of how I managed to get this here in Singapore might be in order. A few years ago, an American couple who had lived here for nearly 40 years decided to go back to the States( this is not uncommon as we have a large expat community here) . They called me to sell off their record collection before leaving and in that pile was this copy. I could not see the matrix numbers then as it was covered with grime but the lettering on the spine and the drawing below John Lennon made me realise that it might be the real thing as I was aware of there being counterfeit copies. Needless to say, I took the collection and after getting home and giving it a good clean, saw the tell tale Monarch marks on the dead wax ( side 1 was clearer and side was lesser so but still unmistakable) . I kept it amongst my rarer LPs and after retirement displayed it amongst my rarer items in a shop I opened in Singapore( with my original copy of Leaf Hound and second state ‘butchers’ amongst others). I have now turned 75 and I suppose, though painful, have to start reducing my vast collection. I know that collectors will be more interested in the LP and not the sonics but decided to put it through my playing tests to see if there are any serious flaws like skips etc. They were none(See results of the play grading ( and equipment used) below. To recap as to whether this is the real Mcoy, the following needs to be highlighted:
1) The lettering on the spine is clear and legible;2) there is the drawing below John Lennon3) both sides of the vinyl have the Monarch symbol ie MR in a circle though the one on side 1 is relatively clearer.
I have included pictures of not only the spine but also the edges to indicate whilst there may be some wear, it’s not serious.
I have been inactive on EBay for the last few years as I opened a shop here in Singapore and only recently restarted. I will be placing the harder to find albums on eBay in addition to my own local sales. As I tend to clean and play grade all opened copies, I will only be placing a rather limited quantity each time . One can follow me on Facebook under For The Record Singapore.
International Buyers – Please Note:Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer’s responsibility. Please check with your country’s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.Buyers please also note that I am based in Singapore .The maximum Ebay postage charges allowed would not cover shipping from Singapore let alone signed for, registered mail.Please read my shipping costs section below.( Recently I shipped 3 albums to UK and found that the postal authorities have changed the rates significantly. The lead times also seem relatively longer). Please also note that I would have to indicate the actual price sold and will most probably take insurance as well.
 GRADING RESULTS:Visual grading:There is some wear on the edges and sides but no serious flaws like tears or writings. The back looks surprisingly clean with almost no age discolouration which can happen here in Singapore. There is no inner sleeve.
Both sides of the vinyl have some light  lines or scratches which did not seem to have gotten into the grooves and didn’t cause skips. It was more prevalent in side 2. It maintains its brilliance and lustre. Tracking at 2.2g on a Linn LP  with a Kiseki Purple Heart  cartridge, I did not hear any skips or loud pops. Though there was some extraneous surface noise it was beneath the music and did not intrude on the listening pleasure ( I must say the sonics was nothing much and my original copies of the UK yellow Parlophone sounded better). I would still put the play grading as VG+ . With a mono cartridge, it actually sounded better ie more towards excellent.I understand it can be system dependent. 
How I Clean and  Grade my Records Cleaning is usually done on two machines ie the UK made  Loricraft PRC 6cleaning machine and the Clearaudio Double Matrix Professional Sonic machine for final cleaning. I use the US made Groovewasher 2 stage cleaning solution.
Playback Equipment:  Playback is through a Linn LP12 turntable/ Radikal/Urika/Keel/ Ekos SE tonearm with a Kiseki Purple Heart cartridge.Amplification is through a Naim 52 preamp/2x135s into a factory rebuilt Wilson Watt Puppy. For Monos I use a second Linn LP 12 with AroKeel/ Naim Aro tonearm and a Miyajima Mono cartridge
 Shipping costs    I use brand new custom made  plastic sleeves for the sleeve and anti static plastic sleeves for the vinyl. Shipping is always by Airmail and by registered post as it allows one to track items in case of delays.  Shipping costs in pounds are :
UK/USA/Europe : 28Each additional LP : 12 per record for the first 3.Beyond that it has to be sent by parcel which can be quite a bit more.However, recently I note that with the increased postal rates, packages comprising of more than 1 kg  incur a much higher rate  and I will inform buyers of the actual amount.Rest Of The World: ask for rates


 Postage is via Airmail, "signed for" delivery. I prefer signed for delivery as it allows me to "chase" on my side if buyers do not get their items within 3 weeks though so far this has only happened rarely.