Vol 6, No. 18, Jul 1995
A look at some of the rarest Zep collectibles
(from Proximity #18, July 1995)
"Promo Only" The very phrase kindles a light in the eye of most rock and roll collectors, and starts them anxiously tallying the contents of their wallet at a record convention or collector's store before the bad news on the price tag is delivered.
The irony of promotional items is that one person's gold is another one's garbage. Record companies crank out vast quantities of posters and other display items and send them free to record stores and radio stations, usually to be crudely stapled or taped to the wall, and often cut up or mangled in various ways to create more interesting, eye-catching displays. More often than not, they're later tossed into the trash once their promotional purpose has been fulfilled.
The next time you're in a record store and see a big display of promo posters for the latest Pearl Jam or REM album, imagine that it's 1975, and the display is for Physical Graffiti. There on the wall, riddled with staples, are a handful of Swan Song promo posters that someday will fetch over $100.00 each. And standing next to them might be a three-dimensional Physical Graffiti 'window' standup display that in 1995 is worth over $500.00!
This is not a far-fetched scenario at all. While all promo items begin life as freebies to somebody, they are produced in relatively limited quantities for a short period of time, and because most of them become damaged in use, truly mint items are very hard to find. They are, by their very nature, truly 'limited edition' items.
Prior to the collector's boom in the late 1970s, promotional items were largely ignored by all but the most savvy collectors, and most were indeed disposed of after use. In addition, because the record business was smaller and promotional budgets less than they are these days, even fewer copies of posters and displays were printed. Thus, the truly vintage Zeppelin material is obviously the rarest.
By the time of In Through The Out Door's release in 1979, the average promotional budget for an album of its stature was enormous, and many lavish and colorful items were created to help promote it. And by that time, many people working in record stores or in a position to receive promo-only items realized the potential value of them and made an effort to preserve them. This is why an elaborate item such as the 3-D standup for In Through The Out Door (item #32), while quite rare, is relatively much less valuable than a simple item from earlier in the band's career like the Ampex promo poster for the first album pictured on page one. (item #2).
Since Led Zeppelin's heyday was such a long time ago, collecting promo items on the band can be an arduous and expensive prospect. The lesson learned, however, is that those Pearl Jam and REM posters you see at the local Wherehouse or Tower are well worth asking for! Often record store folks will give stuff away if asked nicely, and it never hurts to cruise by their dumpster or recycling bin once in a while, too!
In 1973, when I was a tenacious 16-year old Zeppelin fanatic, my local strip-mall record store had the hanging silver Zeppelin promo mobile for Houses Of The Holy up in the store (item # 11). For six months, with clockwork-like regularity, I stopped into that store twice a week and reminded the same poor clerk that I wanted that display when it came down. What started as a minor annoyance to him became a running joke, and then became an annoyance again when he eventually realized that I wasn't going to give up!
One day when I walked in, before I could even say anything to him, he grabbed a ladder, pulled it down, and gave it to me. It remains one of the jewels in my collection, and is the very same one pictured on page six. The last time I saw one in a catalog it was going for $400.00! Courtesy - and persistence - can pay off.
This article, then, is a chronological listing of some of the jewels that exist out there in the world of Zeppelin collecting. Some are nearly impossible to find; others pop up regularly on lists such as those published by Proximity advertisers like Samuel Ketenjian and Merit Adventures. The thrill of the search is topped only by the joy of the score - happy hunting!
Item #4: Advance 7-inch single with picture sleeve."Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" backed with "Dazed & Confused." (Atlantic EP.1019). Sent to radio in advance of Led Zeppelin's release; mono and stereo versions exist.
Item #11: Houses Of The Holy blimp mobile. A 3-piece silver-foil cardboard hanging display, 2 feet long. On one side of the tail are the covers of II and III, and on the other side are Led Zeppelin and the fourth album. A two-sided 12" by 12" reproduction of the Houses cover hangs beneath.
Item #15: Houses Of The Holy "Does Things To People" poster. A fabulous piece; 20" by 30" depicting a vintage black & white woodcut of a man, with his hands bound, placing his head between the bumpers on two railway cars, and stating that Led Zeppelin "Does Things to People." A matching poster showing a man blowing his head off with the legend, "The Effect Is Shattering", was also released for this album.
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