Maurice Ravel – Bolero / Mephisto Waltz

About this record

Westminster pressed this Scherchen coupling as a US mono LP under catalogue W-LAB 7059, and the dead wax carries two matrix strings, XTV26400-1D and XTV26401-1C, one for each side. The sleeve adds a 12 page engineering guide and musical analysis, with an introduction by Dr. Kurt List and analysis by James Lyons, which sets this copy apart from a bare disc.

Demand is thin: 9 collectors have it and 5 want it, and the price guide spans from a P copy at 2.24 up to an M copy at 42.49 USD.

What drives its value

The price guide for this 1957 Westminster mono LP runs from 2.24 USD at Poor up to 42.49 USD at Mint, with VG+ listed at 29.07 USD and VG at 20.13 USD. Those are guide estimates, not a record of completed sales, and the guide carries no lowest current listing and 0 copies currently for sale, so the market snapshot is effectively empty at the moment.

Community data points to a small but engaged audience, with 9 owners, 5 wanting it, and one rating of 5. Within the Westminster catalogue, the mono configuration and the presence of the engineering guide in the sleeve are what separate this release in the record of its own issue.

The data here does not list other pressings, so no comparison to reissues or foreign editions can be drawn from the facts. Condition remains the chief variable, because the wide gap between the Mint and Poor figures reflects how much a worn sleeve or surfaces change what a buyer will pay.

How to appraise this pressing

Begin by confirming the label, Westminster, and the catalogue number W-LAB 7059 on the spine, front, and label. Then check the dead wax for the matrix strings XTV26400-1D on side one and XTV26401-1C on side two, since these are the runout codes recorded for this release, along with the variants XTV 26400 and XTV 26401 that appear in the wider listings and may reflect spacing differences on the stamping.

Confirm the format is a mono LP by reading the label and jacket, because the stereo and mono identities of a Westminster issue are the key difference a buyer must rule out. Check that the sleeve includes the 12 page engineering guide with the introduction by Dr. Kurt List and the musical analysis by James Lyons, since the value of a complete copy depends on these inserts.

Grade the disc and sleeve separately against the Mint through Poor scale, and verify that the two runout codes are present on the correct sides before relying on any price band. This record carries no barcode, so do not expect one to settle authenticity.

Further reading: grading a record, how to sell vinyl.