Just in at eil is this super low numbered copy of the Beatles legendary self-titled album, more commonly known as ‘The White Album’. Released on the 22nd November 1968, the iconic sleeve was designed by pop artist Richard Hamilton in collaboration with the band. The design was in direct contrast to the psychedelic excesses of the previous year’s Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour. The working title for the album was ‘The Doll’s House’, after the Ibsen play and also to highlight the compartmentalised feel of the album’s songs. However, Family released their ‘Music In A Doll’s House’ album in July ’68, so that scuppered that! Going back to the drawing board, Hamilton asked the band if they’d ever had an album called ‘The Beatles’, they hadn’t and thus the album was named.
The all-white sleeve was identified by the band’s name blind embossed just below the middle on the right-hand side, each copy of the record featured a unique stamped serial number – a pop art statement in itself, Hamilton declared it would create, “the ironic situation of a numbered edition of something like five million copies”. In reality, the numbered editions lasted until sometime around early to mid-1971.
Each Beatle was asked to source some personal photos, drawings etc which would be included on the lyric poster and, as an added bonus, four individual colour portraits of the Beatles were also included in the package.
In 2008 an original pressing of the album with serial number 0000005 sold for £19,201 on eBay – Yikes!!! Not to be outdone, Ringo auctioned his personal copy number 0000001 for $790,000 – yikes and yikes again!!!!
The copy we have is numbered just 572, it was owned by a life-long Beatles fan who bought their albums on day of release, they lived just twelve miles from EMI’s legendary pressing plant in Hayes, Middlesex – who knows, perhaps the early copies went to those shops nearby – we’d like to think so but we’ll never know.
Needless to say, low numbered copies are extremely hard-to-find, and this is only third copy we’ve had numbered below 1000 in over thirty years trading – Essential!
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