Music For Frustrated Conductors.

9 separate pieces, from a variety of genres (all done in a "classical full orchestra" style) for you to try your hand at conducting with.  Each has its own separate track (5 on Side 1, 4 on Side 2).

Baton included, clearly inscribed "Your RCA Victor Baton", so is the original one provided.  Mint condition baton.  The cardboard case does show wear, and the inner paper record sleeve is showing its age (60 years now, based on the copyright date on the included instructions).

RCA Victor LP # LM-2325. 

The comments about the type of recording, shown on a label on the back outer side of the record album, do not make it clear whether this is a "monophonic" or a "stereophonic" recording (for instance, abbreviations "mono" and "stereo" are not used); they only say it will in effect sound better on a "stereophonic" playback system, than on a "monophonic" system which I'm pretty sure was still the standard in home use when this recording was made.  The record label does not clearly answer the "stereo" vs. "monophonic" question either, referring to the recording technology as "New Orthophonic High Fidelity".  The comments say that this will sound good on the systems of "tomorrow" (which people generally refer to as "stereo" systems) or "today" (which in the 1950's were generally referred to as "Hi Fi" systems).

Condition:  This information is about the condition of the LP record itself and not the packaging which is discussed elsewhere in this listing and visible in the photos. The information in the rest of this paragraph, in "italics," is the same as provided in a "Condition" text box visible close to the top of this listing, except for a phrase that is set forth in the paragraph after this one what was supposed to be the final words of that above Description, which is set forth in "italics": No major scratches visible. I only mention "scratches" at all because that is the usual cause of the "pop" sound one usually hears when listening to an LP that was given typical family use rather than the "white glove treatment" that an "audiophile" might use while handling LP recordings such as this one.  I listened to approximately the first half of each side of the LP.  Nothing that caused the needle to skip, "loop", or otherwise affect the flow of music.  So for the purpose of this item, nothing that would undo its utility.  Side 1 has a typical amount of occasional 'pops'.  Side 2 during the first track has a loud 'pop' repeated 5 or 6 times at regular intervals, 1 per revolution in succession; before and after that series, the pops are spread out and comparable what was heard on Side 1.  So for the purpose for which this set of musical tracks was put together, nothing that would cause serious pain to listen to (except those 5 or 6 'pops' on side 2."

There was not enough room in the eBay provided text box to complete what I meant to write about "Condition".  The last sentence was intended to end as follows :  "and once you get past those I don't think you'll run into anything comparable afterwards".

And for you pro-level collectors out there, I did not research what if any standards exist about different grades such as "very good" vs. "good" mean.  I was not comfortable with choosing any of eBay's offered 'condition' choices.  I am guessing that choosing 'good' would have been a safe choice, since 'good' seems to mean 3 or 4 levels below "Excellent" or "Mint", yet might be too conservative a choice for what I actually have here.  There were passages with almost no noise, and passages with a few big "pops".  I don't know if the 'official' ratings mean "the worst it ever sounds anywhere on the LP, even if just for a moment", "the best it sounds overall", or "the average quality of sound over all the sound on one, or both, sides of an LP".  My point is, please see the photos, and see the details about what I wrote about my own personal experience in looking at (with my unaided eyes, which due to my being nearsighted may well be better than average in terms of looking at things held just a few inches away from my eyes) and then listening to about the first half of each side of this recording, using a Stanton phono cartridge that probably dates to the 90's at the latest, on a solid state system through good speakers.  So please ignore the pre-written ebay "menu" choice of "good", and focus on the words I personally wrote here and photos I personally took here, when deciding whether or not to buy this item.

With Instructions.  Please see the photographs of the included instruction set to see what is covered.  You are shown how to beat to different time signatures (e.g., 3/4, 6/8 etc.) with suggestions about how the flow / tempo of the music will change during each selection.

Please note that what you see is what you will get.  For example, no sheet music is provided now and I don't see anything that came with this product to suggest that sheet music was ever "bundled" together with it.

Condition is Used. 

Baton in mint condition. Fits in storage groove / "well" provided in extra thick cover (see photos).

The copyright date on the included Instructions is 1959, and as the instructions are specific to this packaged recording, that should be considered the year of release.

While I didn't do an exhaustive search, I didn't find a CD version of this product listed online -- maybe because you can't easily package a lightweight fragile conductor's baton together with a CD (and it certainly won't fit in a CD display rack even if you could).

Listed using ebay phone app. Photos using cell phone, and mostly using existing room lighting (non color corrected).  At least one photo has a shadow on part of it, but that is all it is, a shadow, not a wide-area "smudge" on the paper.  The plain white back cover (including some language about the nature and quality of the recording in the lower right hand area) does show some shallow smudging. May add some more details using full PC.

Came right out of an estate sale, nice environment, with other records I have checked out from same source in generally good or better condition. Record (both sides) appears clean. I would call this a novelty record, meaning that i would guess that the average owner likely only played this a few times, maybe got it as a gift. Nothing in nature of estate goods suggested a professional musician or someone seriously aspiring to become a professional conductor.  As noted above, however, there are the typical 'pops' found in a used record.

SHIPPING:

Shipped with USPS Media Mail free (but Media Mail can take a very long time to reach the customer), or $5.00 fixed charge for domestic USPS Priority Mail.

We almost always ship within 1 business day of payment, and if paid early in a business day based on California time, can often ship same day as paid. Will make extra effort to ship quickly after payment since this might be a gift!

FREE LOCAL PICKUP (BY APPOINTMENT ONLY):  PLEASE READ IF YOU WANT TO PICK THIS UP FROM US AT NO CHARGE TO YOU OTHER THAN YOUR PURCHASE PRICE (plus tax if added by eBay):  If you want the Free Local Pickup option, it is much better to make that choice before you finish and pay with "ebay checkout".  Ebay used to be very strict about that, though apparently it is now possible, if done very soon after purchase, to arrange with the selle for a local pickup, confirmed in writing by messages between buyer and seller so that ebay will be able to review those messages and decide if to approve an after-the-fact decision by the buyer to want the "local pickup" option, rather than the otherwise automatic choice of shipping if no other choice was made before Checkout was complete, to apply.  Since I almost always my listings set up to have a one business day turnaround time between date of payment and date of shipment (this will sometimes be temporarily seen as 2 or more days, usually because I will be out of town for a few days and won't be able to ship as quickly as usual after a purchase), any post-payment wish to change your choice on this topic has to be done quickly so that I don't get a "ding" on my timely shipments record for not shipping as fast as the listing says I would do, that I then have to spend would could be an hour or more on the phone, trying to get ebay to remove. 
And one more thing:  We're a small outfit that does not have an always-available pickup or customer service department, so pickups must be by appointment only.  Please don't show up unannounced and assume you can be helped.  We're reasonable people at this end, however, as our feedback should show, so if we work together, setting up an appointment that works for all should not be difficult. Thanks!

RETURNS:

Any return request conditioned on complete item being returned in same condition as sent (see photos) at buyer's expense within 30 calendar days of date of delivery to address of the actual buyer. Be sure to contact me for approval if you want this shipped to any address other than ebay has on file for the actual registered-on-EBay buyer. Please ask questions as needed before buying or making an offer. Thanks!

SALES TAX ISSUES: (A) Exemption Claim; (B)  EBAY'S NEW POLICY REGARDING CHARGING SALES TAX ON INTERNET SALES:   

A.  Exemption:  As of the date of this listing, if you are a reseller qualified for this itemto be exempt from automatic state sales tax collection by eBay (see "(B)" below), if you think eBay might automatically add sales tax here, please contact eBay and/or check with us before you bid about filing any required exemption forms to seek.  Be sure to take care of this before you pay, since (a) we never see that tax money, so can't refund what we never had, and (b) we are not in a position to be your "advocate" in dealing with dozens of different state laws and requirements to allow sales tax not to be paid.  Note that we can't allow nonpayment to go on indefinitely while you do what you need to do to try to avoid paying sales tax, which is why we are letting you know about this issue before you buy.

B.  For all buyers:  On January 3, 2019, we received the following message from ebay about sales tax collection:

"If you sell to buyers in the US, some states may require you to collect applicable Internet Sales Tax on your transactions. In such cases, eBay calculates, collects, and remits Internet Sales Tax for orders shipped to customers on your behalf. After we collect state Internet Sales Tax, you do not need to take any action. There are no extra charges or fees for this service. Learn more about Internet Sales Tax on our Help pages."

We aren't 'tax experts', but what we think the above basically means is that if you buy something on ebay that you would have had to pay sales tax on, if you'd bought it instead from a local store like a Best Buy store, etc., in your state, ebay might now add your state's sales tax to your purchase price. eBay would then send that tax money, that was part of the total that ebay had you pay, to your state.  

We never see that money, so can't "refund" it. Even if you told us before you purchased the item, and sent us documentation to prove such exempt status, we as the seller have no way to stop eBay from adding state sales tax to what you bought. And even if you sent us documentation before or after the purchase, as some sellers have done with us in the past, and asked us either to refund the amount of tax paid, or if not yet paid, ask us to custom create an invoice that does not charge tax, our experience is that eBay will add tax anyway.

Some states may provide a way on your tax return forms to request a sales tax refund.

Please contact ebay if you have any questions regarding this tax issue.