The Beatles — Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: How to Identify a First Pressing

• Label: The standard first-pressing label is the yellow Parlophone block-type design; the copyright text around the rim begins with 'The Gramophone Co. Ltd.', and the label does carry the words 'Sold in the U.K...'.
• Cover: The sleeve printer credit reads Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd., along with the words 'Patents applied for', corresponding to the patented die-cut standee/silhouette design on the gatefold.
• Inner sleeve: The sleeve is a gatefold, with a red-and-white printed psychedelic inner sleeve, and comes with a cut-out insert on card stock (including a moustache, badges, a postcard image, etc.).

• The first-pressing mono copy is scarcer than the stereo version and is regarded as the most collectible, because the mono pressing contains a distinct mix from the more commercially available stereo mix; confirming a mono first pressing requires cross-checking the label and sleeve details above together.

discogs.com returned a 403 in this research environment and could not be accessed directly; the UK vinyl-collector reference site jpgr.co.uk (The Beatles Collector's Guide) was used instead as the source, since it lists label, sleeve, and matrix details album by album and is not a pricing site.

• Read the runout (the smooth area between the last groove and the label) with the disc tilted under a lamp: matrix numbers, stamper codes and mastering initials are the strongest evidence.
• Label details change between pressing plants and years: rim text, logo style, address, "Manufactured by" wording.
• Cover printing shows the plant and era: printer credit, catalog number position, barcode presence.
• Match all three. A first-press disc in a later cover, or the reverse, is common.

Shoot the label straight on in even light, then the runout with the disc tilted so the etched text catches the light (a phone torch from the side works). Add the front and back cover, the spine, and any inner sleeve or insert. The app reads the label and cover; the runout photo is what confirms the pressing.