Sounds like a hiccup in the printing process! Like there was an emboss
instruction on the line, but the side with the back cover printing got
embossed instead of the front (which would explain why it's reverse on the
back cover - the stock is folded over to create the jacket). Nobody noticed
and they went out anyway... Or maybe it only happened to a few units that
got out, like yours - now destined to become prized collector's items,
natch, and fetch high prices on eBay.
Ironic - the kind of glitch that would have held up release of one of the
original Zeppelin albums by 6 months, not even noticed in the modern-day,
crank-it-out, fu@k-the-quality-control-department-we-don't-need-one world of
graphics production. :-)
I just received my copy of the Classic Records 200g re-issue of Presence
and ITTOD . Curiously, the embossed "LED ZEPPELIN PRESENCE" that I
remember being on the front of Presence is missing. However, the back
cover of the album has the text sort of reverse embossed and backwards
(as if it were the back of the front embossing). Has anyone else
received a copy like this?