Beatles - With the Beatles 1st DECCA Press - Very Rare UK 1st -7N/-7N

	£		112
	$		134

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

With the Beatles

First Pressing November 22nd 1963

PMC 1206

Decca Contract Pressing

Mono

Here we have a beautiful example of one of the rarest Beatles records ever made!

Due to extremely high demand and pre-orders on ‘With the Beatles’, Parlophone sub-contracted Decca pressing plants to press a small amount of overstock.  These are now understandably extremely rare, especially in anywhere near a decent condition!

Decca pressed ‘With the Beatles’ are distinguishable by certain criteria, but mostly by the ‘Decca rim’ that lays half an inch from the centre hole.  The other criteria are as follows:

·         They have the matrix endings -7N/-7N

·         There is no tax code around centre hole.

·         There are no stamper codes.

·         It carries the second label variation.

These Decca pressed LP'S are certainly very very rare, but even more so in this lovely condition!

The first press sleeve is a beautiful, clean example and it houses a barely played top audio thick slab of vinyl.

Matrix Numbers

XEX 447-7N & XEX 448-7N

Mothers.

Side 1:             3         

Side 2:             3         

(Only Decca pressed LPs have no stampers!)

Sleeve Condition.

The 1st print front laminated flip-back Garrod and Lofthouse outer sleeve is in superb condition!  There are no rips, stains or laminate lift to mention!  The spine is nice and straight, free from wear and the wording perfectly readable.  The corners are still nice and sharp with only very minor shelf wear; equally the edges are still nice and sharp.  The colours are as vibrant as they were on the day of release.  There is some minor ring-wear visible to the front to mention. There is no writing on the sleeve whatsoever!  The rear of the sleeve which is unlaminated and open to yellowing is still nice and white with barely any discolouring to mention!  A solid excellent!

 Excellent

Inner Condition.

The 1st press ‘Emitex’ inner is in nice excellent condition with no wring, splits or even discolouring to mention!

Excellent

Label Condition.

The first press Parlophone labels are in fantastic condition. They contain the “Recording first published 1963? and “Dominion, Belinda” publishing credit for “Money” (Side 2) There are no rips, rubbing, writing or stains to mention.  Under a strong light, only a few invisible spindle lines can be seen!  It’s clear to see that this record has really been played with care! 

Excellent

Vinyl Visual Condition.

The thick 1st press record itself looks unplayed on first sight!  It still retains its factory shine and lustre with no scratches or warping at all.  Under a strong light, a few wispy hairlines can be seen that have no audio playback or feel at all!  It’s a joy to hold! A stunning copy!

EXCELLENT +

Vinyl Audio Condition.

The record sounds superb from start to finish!  There are no jumps, skips or distortion at all! I heard only minor static at full volume in the first run in and not into the music itself, which just jumps off the record! The Chuck Berry cover Roll Over Beethoven sounds so crystal and sharp; it’s a joy to the ears! The dynamics of all the different instruments are so well defined and easily separable by the ear.  This really is how the record should be heard; it’s incomparable to later presses or other formats.  Near perfect sharp, crystal audio that won’t disappoint!

Nr Mint

So there we have it.  We have here one of nicest Decca press Beatles rarities you are likely to see and in such beautiful condition.

A Rare Gem!

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 with double stiffeners.

 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!

<--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->