Expert: James Michael Anderson - 8/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: I received a copy of Yesterday & Today with the butcher cover, ST2533. It's in stereo. The question is, how can I tell which "state" it is? What do I need to look for? I have some close-up photos available. The picture appears to be dot-matrix.

ANSWER: There are 6 (six) separate incarnations of the Butcher. These are:

1. First State (never been covered) stereo
2. First State (never been covered) mono
3. Paste Over (second state unpeeled) stereo
4. Paste Over (second state unpeeled) mono
5. Peeled State (third state) stereo
6. Peeled State (third state) mono

By the way, store the record separately from the cover. If you store the record in the cover, the seams will tend to split with the passage of time.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Right, there are six states. My question was, are there any clues to look for to determine which state this is? It's either #1 or #5 above--how do I tell?

Answer
OK, so you're not sure if it's a peel or not.  The first clue would be any potential ripping from the picture, glue remnance etc.  When grading a peeled or 3rd state cover, there is an additional grading consideration, which is the actual grading of the peel job. This can range anywhere from fantastic to tragic ! The good news is that even the crummiest butcher covers seem to be worth at least $100. The reason seems to be that many folks are just so fascinated by the album and are willing to pay for even the most butchered of butcher covers.

When grading a peeled butcher cover, the grading is largely determined by the success of the removal of the trunk cover. Touch up and factory glue residue should be minimal even though some butcher covers may present a challenge for even the most skilled professional peeler. There is often damage to the cover that has occurred at the factory level from the actual application of the adhesives and  trunk cover. This may be seen on #6 butcher covers as faint round vertical rings running down the right side of the jacket near the mouth opening. On #2, #3 or #5 covers, this may be seen as horizontal lines running across the jacket. The more professional the peel, the less one will see of these markings. Unfortunately, some of these near flawless peels are attempted to be sold as 1st state covers.

If you truly have a first state, that's a real find, but the only thing to really look for is evidence that a piece of paper was once pasted onto the cover.