SONNY ROLLINS Blue Note BLP 1542 LEX AVE RVG DG EAR flat edge mono 1st press

	£		335
	$		400

Sonny Rollins Blue Note BLP 1542

BLP 1542 - DG - RVG - Ear - Flat edge - Lexington

You are bidding on a rare original first pressing of

Sonny Rollins Volume 1

Blue Note BLP 1542

Released 16th December 1956

Mono, first pressing

Hand engraved matrices and 'Plastylite' 'ear' in dead wax on both sides

  Deep Groove on both labels

Both labels have italic/script 767 Lexington Ave NYC' address

No Inc. & no 'r' on labels

 Flat edge vinyl

'Kakubushi' 'frame' sleeve.

Narrow spine with no title

Vertical 'Sonny photo and yellow band' on right hand sleeve opening edge.

Sleeve address  is 47 West 63rd Street, New York 23

Tracks: 

Decision / Bluesnote / How are things in Glocca Morra /

Plain Jane / Sonnysphere

Personnel:

Donald Byrd (trumpet) / Sonny Rollins (tenor sax)

Wynton Kelly (piano) / Gene Ramey (bass)

 Max Roach (drums)

VINYL:

The album has been cleaned using a professional VPI record cleaning machine.  Both sides play very cleanly throughout, with only the slightest surface noise in quieter passages, and the very occasional light pop.  There are no scratches or serious marks, only a few very slight surface marks, none of which is 'feel-able' or unsightly.

This is a very nice playing copy, and the Rudy Van Gelder mastering and durability of the original mono vinyl both ensure that it is still very listenable even after 55 years!  This recording has great 'in the room' presence and immediacy!

 Both sides have hand-etched matrices and 'RVG' in the dead wax, together with the machine stamped Plastylite 'ear'.  The vinyl has the 'flat edge' characteristic of Blue Note albums of this vintage.

  The labels are quite clean, with no writing and only a few light marks; there is minimal centre hole wear and a few visible (but not unsightly) spindle marks.

SLEEVE:

The sleeve is of the original Blue Note Kakabushi 'frame' design, with the contemporary narrow spine and 'vertical' front cover design.  The edges have some moderate shelf wear and there is some moderate corner bumping. The bottom sleeve edge has a split along its full length, which has at some stage been repaired with cellotape (now cleanly removed).  The non-laminated front cover is in good condition.  The back cover shows visible signs of age, with some discoloration, marks and wear (see photo); I would therefore rate the sleeve as, at best, 'good'. 

The original Blue Note paper inner sleeve is missing, so I would ordinarily send this one in a plain white paper inner sleeve.  (If desired, I can supply a spare Blue Note inner bag from the original (i.e. first pressing but later) 4000 series, but I don't have any spare 1500 series inners).

 As a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few pictures of the album itself.  (These were taken prior to cleaning the album, so the appearance of the vinyl - as well as the performance - should now be rather better!).  As always, I'm more than happy to answer any further questions that you may have on this one.

A very modest starting price and no reserve, for a rare and sought after original first pressing of this jazz classic.

Happy bidding!

Side one label, 767 Lexington Avenue address, deep groove

Side one RVG

Side one 'ear'

Side one matrix

Side Two (below)

Side two label, 767 Lexington Avenue address, deep groove

Side two matrix

Side two, 'ear'

Side two, RVG

   Flat edge

Narrow spine

Rear sleeve address - 47 West 63rd Street, New York 23

'vertical front' sleeve picture

Seam  split (clean) bottom  edge

 Photo shows actual item.

Fully guaranteed.

Properly packaged.

 Please contact me via eBay messaging if you have any query regarding this item.