Yes, I’ve heard about those colored Blue Notes! Have wondered how good they sound? Take care now. Mahalo!

There has been speculation Kyle, that there may have been NY23 labels on both sides (statistically it makes sense as you said) but that in the past 60 years; however, the few that existed have been destroyed/discarded, hidden away in a collection, etc. As we have never seen one come up for auction, my theory can’t be proven and I can only speak of the 2 NY 23 variations I have seen. I am of the belief that the 1957 initial run must’ve contained at least three variations. NY23 on side 1, NY23 on side 2, W 63rd both sides (and possible NY23 both sides). The sheer rarity of NY23 gives it that special allure. My other issue with W63rd, no inc labels on both sides is plenty of these are from the 2nd, 3rd runs etc over the following 1+ year. As such anyone with W63rd both sides may have something from any of the early runs but not necessarily first. A NY23 in NM condition is special for this reason. FYI, side 2 NY23 is statistically more rare than side 1 NY23 (based on auction history), most of the copies sold at auction (including this particular one above) have been side 1. Some collectors/rarity hunters, appreciate this point also.

What a few people had mentioned above, is what I think is the key, the sleeve (blue note, correct me if I’m wrong, had a single printing plant for its sleeves and they were done in batches. There is strong evidence (londonjazzcollector etc) that the first sleeve is the green one Kyle mentions with grey tone for Coltrane. This copy does not have that but the buyer may not be aware or may not care of this detail. My copy and several others who have this, have alluded to that green cover and its correlation with NY23 labels and other likely 1st west 63rd both sides. I am of the belief that this first cover mixed with the NY23 should lead to the greatest value for a first press blue train.

I am not totally surprised by the sale. eBay bidding is not like Sotheby’s etc. Most people snipe a max bid at the end. There is a lot is psychological insecurity and ego when it comes to auctions. So strong are such emotions among some people, they’d rather overpay something (hoping it won’t happen and that the second bidder will be reasonable). Every once in a while the two max bidders both go over the top and we get sales like the Leapin and Lopin for 7k in the past, Mobley 1568 (sold in UK and given the value of the £ at the time, value was 11k+ US$ – though I’ve heard this order was not fulfilled by sale but was sorted by trade later). As we all know, that doesn’t not mean that is the value of such record, merely a benchmark that may or may not be reproduced. What does surprise me a little about the NY23 copy sold by JRC is that it’s potentially not the earliest green sleeve and secondly that again on the back (which clearly looks like a water stain and not age toning etc). I would not want something that had had something spilled on it. But to each their own and the top bidders didn’t care or maybe they do and they just got caught up in the moment. Either way, as Clifford had said, money clearly isn’t their biggest worry.

I have to say I was more shocked by some of the other sales, some prestige titles that are very commonly found going 2-3 times their typical value. Is this FOMO and people just can’t wait? Or maybe they deeply value the provenance of an item from JRC. I will happily sell my NM copy of some of those miles Davis prestige titles that I know I can find again for >1000$ if any one wants them.

It does break my heart that these artists were underpaid and treated as second class citizens and now these items are treated as investment chips. But this is nothing new; society continues to do this over centuries. Capitalism at its finest! Adam Smith would be proud.

Sorry for rambling, but interesting discussion! Most of what I have written is just speculation from years of collecting. I know as little as everyone else so would love to hear more thoughts.

Sorry if my last post was very long and maybe hard to read.

I just think that the workers at plastylite used up the labels in whichever order they could gra. The thing that was imprtant was of course that it was the correct label and not the adress. i mean Blue Train Side 1 – check. Blue Train side 2 – check! Lets press a bunch of Blue Trains.

There has been speculation Kyle, that there may have been NY23 labels on both sides (statistically it makes sense as you said) but that in the past 60+ years; the few that existed have been destroyed/discarded, hidden away in a collection, etc. As we have never seen one come up for auction, my theory can’t be proven and I can only speak of the 2 NY 23 variations I have seen. I am of the belief that the 1957 initial run must’ve contained at least three variations. NY23 on side 1, NY23 on side 2, W 63rd both sides (and possible NY23 both sides). The sheer rarity of NY23 gives it that special allure. My other issue with W63rd/no inc labels on both sides is plenty of these are from the 2nd, 3rd runs etc over the following 1+ year. As such anyone with W63rd both sides may have something from any of the early runs but not necessarily a first. Finding a west 63rd NM copy is not difficult in my opinion with a little patience. A NY23 in NM condition is so special for this reason. FYI, side 2 NY23 is statistically more rare than side 1 NY23 (based on auction history), most of the copies sold at auction (including this particular one above) have been side 1. Some collectors/rarity hunters, appreciate this point also and NY23 side 2 may be more valuable to some.

What a few people had mentioned above, is what I think is the key, the sleeve (blue note, correct me if I’m wrong, had a single printing plant for its sleeves and they were done in batches). There is strong evidence (londonjazzcollector etc) that the first sleeve is the green one Kyle mentions with grey tone for Coltrane. This copy does not have that but the buyer may not be aware or may not care of this detail. My copy and several others who have this, have alluded to that green cover and its correlation with NY23 labels and other likely 1st west 63rd both sides. I am of the belief that this first green cover mixed with the NY23 should lead to the greatest value for a first press blue train.

I am not totally surprised by the sale. eBay bidding is not like Sotheby’s etc. Most people snipe a max bid at the end. There is a lot is psychological insecurity and ego when it comes to auctions. So strong are such emotions among some people, they’d rather overpay something (hoping it won’t happen and that the second bidder will be reasonable). Every once in a while the two max bidders both go over the top and we get sales like the Leapin and Lopin for 7k in the past, Mobley 1568 (sold in UK and given the value of the £ at the time, value was 11k+ US$ – though I’ve heard this order was not fulfilled by sale but was sorted by trade later). As we all know, that doesn’t not mean that is the value of such record, merely a benchmark that may or may not be reproduced. What does surprise me a little about the NY23 copy sold by JRC is that it’s potentially not the earliest green sleeve and secondly that stain on the back (which clearly looks like a liquid stain). For a top price, I would not want something that had had something spilled on it. But to each their own and the top bidders didn’t care or maybe they do and they just got caught up in the moment. Either way, as Clifford had said, money clearly isn’t their biggest worry.

I have to say I was more shocked by some of the other sales, some prestige titles that are very commonly found going 2-3 times their typical value. Is this FOMO and people just can’t wait? Or maybe they deeply value the provenance of an item from JRC. I will happily sell my NM copy of some of those miles Davis prestige titles that I know I can find again for >1000$ if any one wants them.

It does break my heart that these artists were underpaid and treated as second class citizens and now these items are treated as investment chips. But this is nothing new; society continues to do this over centuries. Capitalism at its finest! Adam Smith would be proud.

Sorry for rambling, but interesting discussion! Most of what I have written is just speculation from years of collecting. I know as little as everyone else so would love to hear more thoughts.

thank you for that explanation. I asked because aren’t there 3 BN’s like this Coltrane, split labels NY23 in the 1570’s?

In regard to the Blue Train, the copy I saw had the earliest cover whereby the front is not as “bright” as later ones, the words in grey and Coltrane’s hair not so clear/visible on the front. On the back Fuller looks really nice, not the weird blotchy pics later on. This copy had the NY23 on side 2 and “For Promotion” I believe both sides and back of cover. It also had the first BN inside plain white paper sleeve. I had never seen one before where it seemed that everything pointed to a very early first pressing.

BTW I have wondered if the split NY23/NYC record labels were a joke/prank. Only happened on a few albums. I know they didn’t like to waste supplies already produced. I just pondered if they had Side 2 and Side 1 NY23 ready to go, why not use them up first, then start the next batch. It’s like a hybrid thing, maybe bridging the gap from NY23 period to the new NYC standard. Always interesting with BN! Mahalo!

Regarding promo labels, they should not be used as evidence for a first pressing. There are well-documented examples of second pressings with promo labels.