eBaying: Miles Test Pressing, Dolphy, Roy Haynes
Here’s an interesting one: Miles Davis Volume 1, Blue Note 1501. This was a test pressing, no cover. What’s makes it cool, in my view, is the original Plastylite logo and the date, which looks to be 12-5-55. Seems pretty original, no? This one was listed in excellent plus condition and sold for $1,025. In the past I’ve owned several test pressings and, while they’re nice to have, I’ve always missed having the covers. This, I think, would have been an exception, but not at that price. Speaking of prices, that copy of Jackie McLean, Swing, Swang, Swingin’, Blue Note 4024, sold for $495 the other day and, no, I was not the winning bidder. As Mrs. JC and I are starting to explore downsizing once again and moving to Manhattan, I am much more of a mind to be selling rather than buying these days.
This one got a high price, all things considered: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, New Jazz 8260. If you click on the link you’ll see what I mean: The record and cover were both listed as VG+, but there seems to be a pretty nice amount of ringwear on the cover, so I guess I’d be a bit skeptical. The winning bidder apparently was not. It sold for $535.
Here are a couple of Roy Haynes LPs that did quite well for the seller, and, presumably for the buyer as well: Roy Haynes, Just Us, NewJazz 8245. This was an original purple label pressing and it was listed as M-/VG++ for the record and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $235.49. Roy Haynes, Cymbalism, New Jazz 8287. This was also an original pressing. It was listed as M- for the vinyl and VG+ for the cover. It sold for $214,49.
Re:Dolphy-I scored a second pressing(blue label)mono copy on ebay some months back. It had the same original cover,but it was/is MINT! And the price-$60-suits my budget. My favorite Prestige cover from the period,by far. You can practically hear Booker snapping his fingers!
Prestige had a short run of second pressings for their Jazz & Folk Record Club (“order three, pay for two”). The labels were dark violet (a darker shade of violet, whereas the initial ones had a lighter, pinkish violet), not DG, and covers mostly non-laminated, unless they had an old stock to clear. I cannot distinguish from the Dolphy picture whether it was DG, but I don’t think so, and the sleeve appears non-laminated. Also the covers were mostly without a broad spine.
I bought a lot from the club, run by photographer Al Johnson and his charming wife. It was always a surprise, sometimes they threw in CO (cut out) copies, real first pressings, with a minor thing to justify the downgrade.
I always try to snipe on these Roy Haynes LPs, hence they are some of the best in the NJ-catalogue. But they are so expensive. Two months ago I saw a reasonable copy of “Cracklin'” for 10-20$ on ebay. I wasn’t sure if it was an original pressing and while I asked the seller, someone else took the record (buy it now). The seller verified it being an original….darn!
But: Why are all classic Haynes LPs so expensive, while “People” on PJ is staying midprice?
Someone should make a cool t-shirt with that Plastylite logo. Talk about a niche market for that one, but it’d be kind of cool.
Hi everyone, just put 13 albums on ebay TEB2007. Nothing really exciting but take a look..AL could you please send me your email again, I should have saved it on my email address, but thats what happens when you get old!
I remember years ago, Red purchased a load of test pressings I think they were from Van Gelder and there were some beauties, I had told him to check to make sure if some were alternate pressing’s, well I never found out…..n ick
Japhys hit on it. That Plastylite logo is so cool – the cursive P – in its place. Fabulous. I’d love to put it up on my Blue Note webpages, but its awfully small in this shot, it pixelates immediately if you enlarge it – the resolution is too low. Any chance of uploading a bigger shot of the Plastylite logo?
You may get it from here:
http://userdisk.webry.biglobe.ne.jp/005/860/60/1/IMG_0444_edited-1.jpg
Gentlemen, I propose the ultimate in sartorial ellegance befitting of a true Jazz Collector (my thanks to Marten and Katharsis)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19121992@N00/5646804847/in/photostream
Sadly they don’t exist outside of Photoshop, but its nice to think some day they might…
Hopefully this doesn’t fall foul of any Jazz Collector etiquette, but I couldn’t resist a little session in photoshop about “Blue Note T-Shirts”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19121992@N00/5646804847/in/photostream
My thanks to Marten and Katharsis for links to original material.
London Calling
LC, if you make the white Plastylite shirt I will buy it!
I don’t know how but I think its possible to make a heat transfer from special photographic paper designed for T-shirt printing. I think I might try. In the meantime, check out this Easter Ebay “find”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19121992@N00/5648931150/in/photostream
Thats all for now folks, back to Jazz
Nice job,London! Might I be the first to suggest,however,that you may have way TOO much free time on your hands? Shouldn’t you be straightening things up around the house..you know,mate-Royal Wedding and all that?(lol)
I love this Easteregg – good sense of humor!
There were some licensed BN-shirts available with different cover-artwork and I can remember a Microgroove-logo-shirt which was cool.
And – I’ve never seen it again – there was a black shirt with fat letters “RVG in the dead wax”. I wanted to have it.
Happy easter to all!
great job London!
there are some packages with cd and t-shirt (‘moanin’ f.e. ) , and here in amsterdam we have bn t-shirts with different
covers on them… i have one “unity” and “true blue” , there are about 15 different ones.
If you take a didital file of any picture, they can print it on tshirts at almost any copyshop…
London, those shirts are sweet! The curved microgroove one is truly awesome and I would pay good money for one of those. Do you have a high res JPG of that you could post? I might take it to a local shirt printer and see what he can do with it.
If anyone wants to have a go at an iconic T-shirt for real, the Plastylite address, and the Lexington label extract are here as JPEGS in reasonably high definition.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19121992@N00/5658998006/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19121992@N00/5658997576/in/photostream/
LC – thanks for the images! Not to be a pest (but I will be!), but your images cannot be downloaded or copied & pasted.
Not that much later I scored a copy of “Cracklin'” in nice shape. The cover is VG and the record plays EX. Nice find and I’m happy to have one of my most beloved jazz-albums as an original pressing!