ON THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 11TH & 12TH, 1966, CAPITOL PLANT EMPLOYEES WERE ASSIGNED TO SLICE OPEN THOUSANDS OF "YESTERDAY & TODAY" ALBUMS, STACKING THE BUTCHER COVERS IN ONE PILE AND THE INNER SLEEVED RECORDS IN ANOTHER. LATER, THE INNER SLEEVED ALBUMS WERE STORED PENDING THE DELIVERY OF THE NEW TRUNK COVERS. THIS BUTCHER COVER WAS ACQUIRED FROM THE CAPITOL RECORDS DISTRIBUTION MANAGER IN BOSTON, WHOSE PROJECT WAS TO DISPOSE OF THOUSANDS OF BUTCHER COVERS. OVER 7,000 WERE BURIED IN A DUMP AND THE REMAINDER WERE "PASTED OVER" WITH THE PENDING TRUNK COVER. PRESENT DURING THE RECALL PROCESS OF THE BUTCHER COVER, AND ACCORDING TO HIS DIRECTION TO THE EMPLOYEES, THE ALBUMS WERE "STRIPPED" FROM THE COVERS.

FROM THE FAMILY OF A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS A CAPITOL RECORDS DISTRIBUTION MANAGER BACK IN 1966, THIS RARE JACKSONVILLE FACTORY # 4 COVER HAS SURVIVED AND PERSONALLY STORED AWAY IN THE MANAGER'S HOME SINCE THAT WEEKEND IN JUNE. JACKSONVILLE, INDIANA NUMBER “4” BUTCHERS ARE THE RAREST OF THE THREE FACTORIES, AND ONLY A FEW KNOWN COPIES HAVE SURFACED. THE JACKSONVILLE FACTORY WAS KNOWN TO HAVE PRODUCED SMALLER NUMBERS OF THE BUTCHER COVER, YET THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY THE NO. 4 COVER IS SUCH A RARITY. THIS WAS DUE TO THE JACKSONVILLE PLANT MANAGER, WHO HAD ORDERED THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL BUTCHER COVERS THAT WERE RETURNED TO HIS FACTORY.

THIS FIRST STATE COVER IS SIMPLY STUNNING AND REMAINS IN THE ORIGINAL FACTORY SHRINKWRAP - AN EXEMPLARY BRILLIANT AND SHARP NEAR MINT, WITH NO BLEMISHES AT ALL. IT IS A WORLD CLASS HIGH END EXAMPLE WITH GRAPHICS THAT "POP" OFF THE SLICK WITH STRIKING, DEEP COLORS AND RICH, VIBRANT CLARITY - DISPLAYING GORGEOUS TEXTURES - QUITE SIMPLY EXQUISITE AND BOLD. TWO FACTORY BREATH HOLES ARE PRESENT ON THE FRONT COVER, AND ONE BREATH HOLE ON THE BACK COVER.  THE Spine and Title printing OF THIS BEAUTY is IMPECCABLE, firm and CRISP. THE COVER LAYS PERFECTLY FLAT. THE BACK COVER IS COMPLETELY SNOW WHITE AND STUNNING. ONLY MINOR FLAW EVIDENT IS A 4" TRIANGULAR SHAPED PIECE OF SHRINKWRAP THAT HAS TORN AWAY, YET THE COVER REMAINS UNAFFECTED IN THAT AREA. THE FACTORY NUMBER "4" IS PRINTED ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER BESIDE THE 'RIAA' SYMBOL.

THIS BUTCHER COVER IS ACCOMPANIED WITH ITS ORIGINAL JACKSONVILLE RECORD. WHAT IS UNIQUE HERE IS THAT IT IS A "STEREO" PRESSING. THIS RARER JACKSONVILLE STEREO PRESSING WAS THE ACTUAL RECORD THAT WAS PULLED FROM THE COVER ON THE DAY OF THE RECALL AND HAS BEEN WITH THE COVER EVER SINCE JUNE 1966. THE CONDITION OF THE RECORD IS A BEAUTIFUL AND GLEAMING NEAR MINT MINUS, AND THE CAPITOL ’66 ORANGE INNER SLEEVE DUST COVER IS ALSO INCLUDED.

ALSO INCLUDED WITH THIS BUTCHER COVER ARE COPIES OF AUTHENTIC CAPITOL RECORDS INTER-OFFICE LETTERS & MEMOS, DIRECTLY ASSOCIATING AND AUTHENTICATING THE BOSTON DISTRIBUTION MANAGER WHO ONCE OWNED THIS COVER, AND OTHER PERTINENT PRINTED MATERIALS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS PACKAGE:

(1.) LETTER DATED MARCH 16, 1964, CONGRATULATING THE DISTRIBUTION MANAGER AND HIS PEOPLE FOR A SUCCESSFUL RELEASE OF THE FIRST CAPITOL BEATLES ALBUM IN AMERICA "MEET THE BEATLES". LETTER IS FROM STANLEY M. GORTIKOV, THEN VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF CAPITOL RECORDS DISTRIBUTING CORP. THE LETTER CC'S ALAN LIVINGSTON AND STEPHEN STROHMAN. THIS LETTER IS NOT SIGNIFICANT TO THE BUTCHER COVER, BUT HAS HISTORICAL IMPACT.

(2.) THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENT IT IS A MEMO FROM THE DISTRIBUTION MANAGER TO R.L. HOWE, THE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION MANAGER, DETAILING THE DESTRUCTION ORDERS OF 50,700 JACKSONVILLE MANUFACTURED BUTCHER COVERS.

(3.) A FOUR-PAGE “BUTCHER RECOLLECTION” ESSAY FROM THE DISTRIBUTION MANAGER GIVING REMARKABLE DETAILS ABOUT THE BUTCHER COVER'S HISTORY AT CAPITOL, AND THE ARDUOUS TASK OF REMOVING THE RECORDS FROM THE BUTCHER COVERS - AND THE PROCESS OF BRINGING THE BUTCHER COVERS TO THE LOCAL DUMP YARD FOR DISPOSAL.

(4.) NEWSPAPER CLIPPING FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE (6/25/66).

(5.) COPY OF THE FAMOUS RECALL LETTER TO REVIEWERS WHO HAD RECEIVED PROMO COPIES OF THE LP, FROM CAPITOL’S PRESS MANAGER RON TEPPER.

THIS MAGNIFICENT JACKSONVILLE  FIRST STATE BUTCHER COVER, WHICH REMAINS IN IT'S ORIGINAL FACTORY SHRINKWRAP, IS  WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE FINEST SURVIVING EXAMPLES KNOWN TO EXIST AND RIVALS SEALED EXAMPLES THAT HAVE AN ISSUE OR TWO. THIS COVER IS 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC AND ACCOMPANIED BY LETTER OF AUTHENTICITY FROM PERRY COX, BEATLES U.S. RECORDS EXPERT, AUTHOR OF "THE BEATLES RECORD PRICE GUIDE" SERIES OF BOOKS.