RARE Beatles LP- Yesterday and Today STEREO 3rd BUTCHER

	£		72
	$		95

. MEGA RARE US LP by the Beatles
Yesterday... and Today
Original STEREO 3rd State BUTCHER COVER!!!   .
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On offer here is the holy grail of Beatles collecting! Described by many as *the* most collectible album cover in the world, this is a genuine, authentic STEREO 3rd state Butcher Cover from 1966! And here's your chance to own one!!!

Back in 1966 Capitol were planning a new Beatles LP to be released in June. The LP, to be called Yesterday and Today, featured a mixture of tracks from the UK LPs Help, Rubber Soul and Revolver. The Beatles were called in for a photoshoot for the front cover with photographer Robert Whittaker and pretty soon they got bored of doing 'another Beatle thing'. Sensing this, Robert went and got a variety of baby dolls, slabs of meat and 4 Butcher smocks. Intended purely as a bit of fun, a series of photos were taken. However, even though they were not intended for the front cover, Capitol chose one of the set to use for Y&T - this was to become the infamous Butcher cover. 750,000 copies of the album with this picture on were sent around America to radio stations and music shops and the reaction was so negative that they were forced to recall every single one, thus creating an instant collectors item. After it was realised that destroying all returned copies was going to prove way too expensive and time consuming it was decided to simply paste the new 'trunk' slick (created after the Beatles were brought back in for a replacement photo and featured the group nonchantily sitting around a packing trunk) on top. When fans heard of this strictly limited release they rushed out to buy their copies and then tore the trunk slick off to see if there was a Butcher underneath, invariably ruining any if they were indeed there.

This butcher cover is the MUCH rarer STEREO version! Even though back in 1966 where stereo was the more favoured format, when the Butcher cover was printed five times more mono copies were pressed than the stereo. My personal belief is that the Butcher covers were majorly going to be used as the promotional presses and back then radios were broadcast in mono. This would have made the stereo presses weird to listen to over the airwaves. The stereo ones were more likely to be the copies sent to stores. But whatever the reason the Stereo sleeves are MUCH harder to find than their mono counterparts!! They outnumber monos at a ratio of 5:1!

This sleeve has the number 5 on the back which indicates that it was pressed at the Los Angeles factory!

The cover overall is holding up really nicely with all the seams holding tight with no splitting or tears. The Butcher slick itself has numerous little tears in it as you can see in the photo but quite a bit of the white on the left and bottom right is residue from the trunk slick. If there are any professional peelers out there they could get this residue off and have a pretty great looking Stereo butcher here!!

But overall this is a great looking Stereo Butcher and this would look awesome in any collection or indeed framed and hung on a wall along with a copy of the Butcher Letter (which is included). Copies are becoming increasingly scarce as more and more copies end up in permanent collections and so this is your chance to nab your very own Butcher cover before it's too late!!!

No record collection is complete without a Butcher Cover!

If there is anything else you'd like to know about this record, then please don't hesitate to get in touch!   .
. . Band / Artist The Beatles Title Yesterday... and Today Year 1966 Label Black Capitol with rainbow rim. Catalogue Number ST 2553 Format Stereo Track Listing Side 1   Side 2 1. Drive My Car
2. I'm Only Sleeping
3. Nowhere Man
4. Dr. Robert
5. Yesterday
6. Act Naturally   1. And Your Bird Can Sing
2. If I Needed Someone
3. We Can Work It Out
4. What Goes On?
5. Day Tripper Side 1 Matrix Number ST-1-2553-A-15 Side 1 Stamper Codes   Side 2 Matrix Number ST-2-2553-A-13 Side 2 Stamper Codes     .
. The cover as a whole is holding up really nicely! There are no stains on the Butcher cover itself and it has the lovely rich colour that many covers don't have. The top and bottom seams along with the spine have a bit of light wear but none have splits and they're all holding nice and tightly. The back cover is looking nice but does have some light ringwear and some light discolouration in places.

Focussing on the actual Butcher slick there are some tears - a couple of them are quite big but overall the slick is majorly looking perfect. There's also quite a bit of trunk slick residue down the left side and the bottom right corner - the right skills will get that off and if done good the cover will look great!

This would look perfect framed along with a mono slick and with the Butcher recall letter that was issued out during the recall across America.

Overall this is a great copy of this mega collectible LP!

  The Front Cover   The Back Cover     The Gatefold   .
. G The vinyl itself is pretty marked and scuffed and is only really included for completists sake. If you prefer the LP can be mailed without the disc. This is the correct 'West Coast' pressing of the disc that goes with the cover.   Side 1   Side 2   .
.   Side 1   Side 2   .
.     The Butcher Recall letter. This is a reproduction.   None             None   None             None       .
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SHIPPING
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UK PRICES INCLUDE RECORDED DELIVERY COST.   .
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Refunds
Everybody's grading is different; one persons NM might be another persons VG. If you are at all unhappy with the record then please email me and let me know for a full refund plus the postage cost to get it back to me. The record must get back to me in the exact same condition it left however else this offer is void.

Insurance
All items sent within the UK are sent Recorded Delivery as standard. If a record sells highly I'll put up the option for special delivery in case you which to have it sent in this way. All LPs are sent overseas to places outside the UK are sent uninsured as standard small packet airmail. If you live outside the UK and win a record for a lot of money it is highly recommended that insurance is paid for - the option will be there in the invoice I'll send after the auction ends. If no insurance is taken and the LP is lost in transit there is sadly very little, if anything I can do.

Items Lost in the Mail
If your LP hasn't gotten to you and you're at all worried then please don't hesitate to get in touch so that it can be sorted out. Most likely it's just because I haven't been able to get to the post office due to work commitments. If however it has been posted out and not arrived then I will do everything I can to chase it up and try and find it again. Every record sent within the UK is sent recorded delivery so if it does go walkies there's always that to fall back on and chase up. Unless otherwise requested or paid for all overseas items are sent standard airmail so if they disappear there is very little, if anything I can do. I collect proof of purchase with every item I post.

Items Damaged in the Mail
I professionally pack all of my records between strong 12" corrugated stiffeners and sent in a sturdy cardboard LP mailing envelope for full protection whilst in transit. In all my years of buying and selling on eBay only one record I have sent out has arrived broken at its destination (and that was only because the postman obviously couldn't read the large 'FRAGILE' and 'DO NOT BEND' marks on it as he folded it up to put through the letterbox!!). Since the fault of the breakage lies with the postal service your best bet is to tackle them about the problem. I'll help any way I can.

Images and Audio on this Auction
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Payment Methods
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. UK PAYPAL is preferred (I do NOT add a surcharge) although I can also accept personal cheques, postal / money orders or (entirely at your own risk) direct cash. Rest of World PAYPAL is preferred (I do NOT add a surcharge) although I can also accept an Internal Money Order or (entirely at your own risk) direct cash.   .
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The grading system I use when determining the condition of my vinyl
The 'Record Collectors' Grading System.
Taken from the Rare Record Price Guide book   Mint (M) The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertisied as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint. Near Mint (NM) The record looks brand new with no scuffing or any deterioration in sound quality and only the smallest hint that its ever been played. The cover and any additional extras are clean, crisp and with no wear whatsoever. Excellent (EX) The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing. Very Good (VG) The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable. Good (G) The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc. Fair (F) The record is still just about playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. Poor (P) The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing. Bad (B) The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.  

On 05-Nov-06 at 20:33:21 GMT, seller added the following information:

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