The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's ‘Fourth Proof’ Mono LP.

PMC 7027 – Original Black and Yellow Parlophone label.

An original UK pressing, features the rarest known version of this ground breaking album.

This ultra RARE and unique version of this album was effectively a preproduction sleeve,  the first  3 ‘proofs’  didn’t see the light of day,  this 4 ‘proof’ was passed around for final agreement, it is believed that only  40 – 50 copies were ever produced.  Never meant to be released, but a number of these sleeves did find their way to the public.  As these  were ‘proof’  copies they  should have NEVER have left the printers.

There are a number of differences from the final production sleeve that make it  unique:

1. a "4TH PROOF"  and a "AR" AND " D 13217"  printed on the top flipback on the inner gatefold of the sleeve,  there is a story about this that the old style of ‘visual’  flipbacks where on their way out and that the album was to feature the new ‘inner’  flipbacks design, therefore it was  thought that the above text would  NOT be  seen !.  Apparently the ‘AR’ stands for the designers initials and the ‘D 13217’  is the internal catalogue number for the printers of the sleeve, ‘Garrod and Lofthouse’.

2. The rear of the sleeve features the text "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd  Patents Pending”,  its only a very small number of very early Pepper Mono sleeves that have this additional text, Patents Pending. The sleeve normally just states "Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd" (G&L). By the time of the official launch of Sgt Pepper in June 1967, G&L had got their ‘Patents’ confirmed and this text ‘Patents Pending”  was removed from the sleeve.  

3. Georges jacket is Pink instead of Red, as on the standard sleeves,

4. Johns jacket is Yellow instead of Green, as on the standard sleeves.

CONDITION:

MAIN SLEEVE:  is in good condition, the sleeve is fully laminated. The colours on the sleeve are full and fresh and have not faded in anyway.  It features the original exposed flipbacks when the sleeve is opened.  The spine is worn and only about 20%  of the text is readable.

Please note that there is NO  ‘Green cardboard cut-out’  present.

INNER SLEEVE: is in very good condition and is White with a printed ‘Patent’ number on it,  it is very white and clean.

VINYL:  is in very good condition+, it is made from  the period ‘thick’, heavy vinyl, it is dark and has a high gloss, the audio is very good. It plays really well all the way through  and lays flat on the turntable and plays with NO skips or jumps.  The matrix no’s. are XEX 637-1 and the Mother/Stampers are: ‘4 - RPD’ and XEX 638-1 and the Mother/Stampers are ‘2 - RAM’ .     

THE LABELS:  are in very good+ condition, they are  bright and clean,  there is a  ‘KT’ embossed onto side One.

I am using the official grading system from Record Collector Magazine.

Grading System

The seven standard condition categories and a description of what each one means are listed below:

MINT: 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 advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: 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: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just 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: 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: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

+  or  – :  indicates a grading in between categories.

PACKING - ALL RECORDS ARE SENT OUT WITH MULTI LAYERED CARD STIFFNERS.

DISCOUNT WILL BE GIVEN ON POSTAGE FOR MULTIPLE PURCHASES.

ALL PICTURES AND RECORD DESCRIPTION ARE MY OWN AND ARE ALWAYS OF THE ACTUAL RECORD FOR SALE.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL GET A RECEIPT FOR ANY ITEMS SENT UNINSURED, BUT I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEMS LOST IN THE POST !

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL ITEMS ARE PAID FOR BY AT LEAST ONE WEEK FROM THE END OF THE AUCTION.

PICK UP OF ITEMS CAN BE ARRANGED BUT THE BUYER MUST PAY CASH ON COLLECTION.

IN THE UK  ALL ITEMS SENT OUT OVER THE VALUE OF £37 WILL BE SENT RECORDED DELIVERY, SO POST AND PACKING CHARGES WILL VARY.

ITEMS WITH A GREATER VALUE OF £37, THE BUYER WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE, AS STATED IN EBAY POLICY, AS THE SELLER HAS NO PROTECTION IF THE ITEM GOES MISSING IN THE POST ETC. 

 POSTING   OVERSEAS

I WILL BE HAPPY  TO SEND RECORDS OVERSEAS, CONTACT ME AND I WILL LET YOU KNOW THE POST AND PACKAGE CHARGES.

ITEMS WITH A GREATER VALUE OF £37, THE BUYER WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR INSURANCE, AS STATED IN EBAY POLICY, AS THE SELLER HAS NO PROTECTION IF THE ITEM GOES MISSING IN THE POST ETC. 

ALL  ITEMS THAT ARE POSTED OVERSEAS WILL BE SENT ‘RECORDED DELIVERY’,  TO COMPLY WITH EBAY POLICY, SO POST AND PACKING CHARGES WILL VARY.