Blue Note jazz first-press
identification.

Blue Note changed labels, dies, covers, and pressing details over time. A true first issue carries the title-correct combination below; no single checklist applies unchanged to every catalog number.

1. Label address. The original Blue Note label has the company address printed at the bottom edge. Three main forms matter: “Lexington Ave”is the earliest; “47 West 63rd St NYC” follows; “New York USA” is the later Blue Note-owned-era label. The 43 West 61st address belongs on period covers, not as a center-label era.

2. Deep groove. A pronounced raised circle pressed into the label area, visible by tilting the record under light. The deep groove came from the pressing process. It was phased out gradually, so whether one or both sides require a deep groove depends on the specific title and release date.

3. Edge profile. A flat edge belongs to the earliest part of the 12-inch Blue Note run. Later original issues have rounded edges, so this is another catalog-number-specific clue rather than a universal requirement.

4. Plastylite ear. The small curled-P mark collectors call the “ear” identifies Plastylite, the New Jersey plant that pressed Blue Note records during the label's independent era. It is a plant mark—not Rudy Van Gelder's signature.

5. RVG or VAN GELDER. Rudy Van Gelder's separate mastering mark appears hand-etched, stamped as RVG, or later stamped as VAN GELDER depending on the title. It can survive on later pressings made from older metal, so it must agree with the plant, label, and cover clues.

Compare the RVG stamp and Plastylite ear side by side.

Recent sold-listing ranges for original Blue Note first-press copies in NM condition with the title-correct identifiers. Format demand varies by title and issue.

Sources: Discogs sold listings (90-day window), Popsike.com auction archive, Heritage Auctions comparables. Hank Mobley BLP 1568 is one of the most valuable jazz LPs in existence.

Lexington Ave label. An early label clue that must still match the specific catalog number, cover, groove, and runout combination. A small subset of these titles is highly sought regardless of the artist.

Title-correct RVG and Plastylite marks. Van Gelder's mastering mark and Plastylite's separate curled-P ear often appear together during the independent era. Their exact form still has to match the title's chronology.

Original Reid Miles cover design. Most canonical Blue Note covers were designed by Reid Miles using Francis Wolff photographs. Original covers from the 1956–1965 era used specific typography and paper stocks. Reissue covers often used similar art but with different print quality and paper weight.

Two reissue series consistently fool casual buyers. Worth knowing both by name.

Liberty / United Artists era (1966–1979). After Lion and Wolff sold Blue Note in 1966, the catalog passed through Liberty and then United Artists. These reissues used the Blue Note name and often similar artwork but different mastering and no deep groove. They're collectible in their own right but trade at a fraction of the originals.

Toshiba-EMI Japanese reissues (1970s onward). The Toshiba-EMI Japanese pressings have a strong reputation for quiet, well-mastered audiophile quality, but they are not original first-presses. NM copies of the Japanese reissues trade at $50–200, significantly below the US originals.

Music Matters and Analog Productions reissues (2000s+). Modern audiophile-label reissues cut from original tapes by mastering engineers like Kevin Gray. These are excellent listening copies and worth their cost (typically $30–60 new), but they are not Blue Note originals.

Pull the record. Check the label address first (Lexington Ave, 47 W. 63rd, or New York USA), then compare the groove and edge profile required for that catalog number. In the dead wax, check separately for Van Gelder's mastering mark and Plastylite's curled-P ear before calling it a first press.

Or scan with Crown Vinyl. The app reads the label address, catalog number, and matrix runout from a single photograph, returns the exact pressing era, and pulls a current value estimate. Free on the App Store.