Today (8th Nov 2023) , the BBC News site reports that the original photo has just been found. Their article says that the photograph was taken of a local thatcher by a photographer called Ernest Edwards, who died in 1944. If I understand the article correctly, the person photographed was called Lot Long from Mere in Wiltshire....but I may have misunderstood that part. Anyway, to read the BBC article for yourself, google "BBC News Original pghoto from Led Zeppelin IV album cover discovered".
@tierno3790
9 ай бұрын
from the BBC article of 8th Nov 23 "A man depicted on the album cover of Led Zeppelin IV has been revealed as a 19th Century thatcher. The figure is most likely Lot Long from Mere in Wiltshire, photographed by Ernest Farmer. Brian Edwards, from the University of the West of England (UWE), found the original picture when looking through a photograph album for other research. "I instantly recognised the man with the sticks - he's often called the stick man," he said. A long-time fan of British rock band Led Zeppelin, he told BBC Radio Wiltshire "it was quite a revelation". Wiltshire Museum has since acquired the photograph and plans to include it in an exhibition next year. Released in 1971, Led Zeppelin IV has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide and includes the huge hit Stairway to Heaven. The cover art had previously been described as a photograph of a painting, which was reportedly discovered by the band's lead singer, Robert Plant, in an antique shop near guitarist Jimmy Page's house in Berkshire. But the framed image which can be seen on the cover is actually a colourised photograph, the whereabouts of which is now unknown. Mr Edwards - who is part of the regional history centre at UWE in Bristol - explained how he worked out the original photographer was Ernest Farmer, who died in 1944. The only clue in the photo album was the photographer's name Ernest, but Mr Edwards discovered hundreds of Victorian photographers with that name. He said the quality of the photos suggested they were taken by a professional, and so he looked for chemists, as many of them were involved in photography. Mr Edwards discovered a chemist working in Salisbury, close to where the picture was taken, who had a son called Ernest Farmer, and then found his handwriting online. Mr Farmer was the first head of the school of photography at the then newly-renamed Polytechnic Regent Street, now the University of Westminster. "Part of the signatures matches some of the handwriting in the album," he said. "The black and white photograph has a thumbprint in the corner - it looks like it's the original," Mr Edwards added. The photo album mostly contains views and architecture from south Wiltshire and Dorset. It is titled Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892. A present to Auntie from Ernest. Ernest Farmer gave the photo album to his aunt Mr Edwards then set about researching thatchers from that time period, and said his research suggested the man pictured was Lot Long, who died in 1893."
@TJRtheOriginal
9 ай бұрын
Wow! Thanks for posting this. This is great to find out!....(although it might make my video kinda obsolete LOL) But I am glad to hear that we finally now know! Thanks again.
@Katerina9256
2 жыл бұрын
It is the Hermit...he's shown in his earthly existence on the cover but his higher evolved self is shown inside lighting the way, as it does in the Tarot. Jimmy showed us all in TSRTS didn't he? Climbing the mountain during Dazed and Confused....the Hermit was above shining that light on his path. And when he finally got there we find out it was Jimmy himself, his Higher Self constantly beckoning him home.
@briangonigal3974
2 жыл бұрын
In the Rider Tarrot deck (probably the most famous Tarrot deck) the image on the card the Ten of Wands shows a person struggling to gather up 10 big sticks or branches together in his arms. I always thought this was at least somewhat reminiscent of the image of the old man with his burden of sticks strapped to his back. (I'm pretty sure I've seen other Tarot decks where that card shows the 10 wands/branches actually strapped to the man's back, but those were almost certainly much later decks that were in turn "inspired" by the painting on the album cover itself.)
@davidskidmore4189
2 жыл бұрын
I've always thought that the cover and the music were related. The outer cover shows the hermit, a country archetype, so much so that his presence has meaning in the tarot. The full cover shows that society is moving on, they pay no mind to the significance of the hermit, are demolishing his house, they have forgotten him and his ways. The inner gatefold shows the hermit in his true significance, the tarot character. The music in that album, for all it's groundbreaking heavy metal, is an odd evocation of earlier times. The Battle of Evermore could be describing a battle that took place in Tolkien, or a thousand years before. Even a song like Misty Mountain Hop talks a Hyde park rally for pot, but in almost fairy tale terms. In Stairway, it's the forest that echoes with laughter, not the city street that is taking over the area displayed on the cover. Of course, it is a enigmatic image, and was meant to be. And, a wonderful subject for fans to discuss and argue over for ever.
@iainholmes2735
Жыл бұрын
Yes, it's such an enigmatic cover. As you indicate, things are passing into history; the old giving way to the new. The hermit, perhaps, is living a discreet life, at one with nature, taking only what he needs. The Victorian terraced houses are crumbling into obsolescence. A brilliant cover. For me, all great bands, like Zeppelin, have a golden age. Led Zeppelin 4 is a masterpiece, as dynamic and mysterious as ever.
@kennethspringer9425
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you TJR for a retreat tome on a very beautiful and esoteric piece of musical history. Zeppelin is one of greatest intellectual rock bands of all time and your examination of the album cover paints more intrigue to the quality of their brand. This was truly enjoyable. Continue, please continue.
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I hope to continue.
@Wayner71
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for a poignant and contemplative video. It's worth considering that the Early 70's landscape on the back cover is also now lost to us in time. That saddens me as well as that era represents my late childhood. Lost but not forgotten. Cheers.
@robertacolarette1594
2 жыл бұрын
I regarded the cover the same as you when I first got it in the early 70’s. The Hermit image was much more fascinating to me. I really liked this video.
@TJRtheOriginal
Жыл бұрын
Thanks.
@iainholmes2735
Жыл бұрын
Great vid. It's such a thought provoking cover.
@johnmoreno96
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for diving into the cover of LZ IV, without mentioning the great music inside. On a side note I recently bought a LZ IV with original cellophane cover and hype stickers, “Stairway to Heaven”(front) song list(back side” on the cellophane. Just had to have it, I now own four copies of LZ IV. ☮️✌️🎶🎼🎵☮️
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Very nice!
@craigwarner6156
2 жыл бұрын
Ok I loved this because I knew nothing of this cover art at all. And this was an extremely good and well thought out video. Brilliant TJR Brilliant. Thank you. And yes of course, please do many more of these as it makes me want to go and listen to and buy this album. I'm very much a Beatles and solo fan with some other pop rock thrown in fan. And have only skirted very much around the edges of Led Zeppelin (stairway to heaven of course) so here we go.
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks. If there was one Led Zeppelin album that I would recommend to a newcomer as one to start with, it would be Led Zeppelin IV. So many of the songs on that album are radio mainstays. You’ll discover that you are largely familiar with the majority of the songs on it. And that familiarity will carry you through the songs you don’t know until repeated listenings make them as familiar. .
@Bootlegger1892
2 жыл бұрын
That’s some great research, I never knew about Brusher Mills but sounds and looks plausible. It is however long since known that Robert Plant did purchase the painting in a second hand shop in Reading, Berkshire. All I can add, being an ex-Reading inhabitant is that we pronounce it “Redding, Barksher”
@Menieres4Life
2 жыл бұрын
It was a painting found by Plant and the creator of the cover asked to use it, the painting was changed out from its original frame and put into the frame seen on the cover because it looked more worn.
@shaunsmith3538
2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting! An album cover that's always intrigued me. Especially due to the fact that I don't live too far from Ladywood. 👍
@pourlefun
2 жыл бұрын
The picture always brings that Hamlet quote to mind: "Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death?" - "fardel" being a synonym for burdens / a heavy load. However, in old English, it's also a word meaning "a bundle or collection" - often a direct reference to sticks. I'm not trying to suggest this is really what the picture is about, this is just what it reminds me of.
@medicinemann8844
2 жыл бұрын
👍🏻 Great insight unknown 👍🏻
@vernefits1953
Жыл бұрын
Excellent analysis
@TJRtheOriginal
Жыл бұрын
Thanks.
@bhusar1
2 жыл бұрын
Great video
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks
@HardRockMaster7577
2 жыл бұрын
I remember getting LZ IV on the day of it's release. I was a Jr. in HS in 1971. I didn't pay attention to the artwork on the album, or on the record sleeve. For me, it just all about the music. It was only later, when I was in college, and after smoking pot, that I began to pay close attention to album cover artwork.
@MexieMex
2 жыл бұрын
Nothing to add to the conversation, but still want to but in to say, wow, what a great video!
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!.....And thanks!
@jameswilson7084
2 жыл бұрын
I was always more intrigued by the "Presence" Led Zeppelin album cover. It definitely made me go... huh?, when I first saw that. Now I know it's about "The Object". But even knowing that, it still makes me go... huh? Many other album covers made by that same team make me think the same, like Black Sabbath's "Technical Ecstasy". You could make a whole video series on strange and puzzling 1970's album covers.
@love4thetruth
2 жыл бұрын
The LZ album cover they are gathered around a ouija board curser.
@JohnChalmers617
Жыл бұрын
They were truly works of art .
@chobson8602
2 жыл бұрын
The man is in the shape of a number 4, this is my long held theory
@crabtreechristian6
Жыл бұрын
Love
@Mr_Rob_otto
2 жыл бұрын
Definitely not Aleister Crowley. That occult stuff was Jimmy’s thing, not Robert’s.
@patparadiserockstation
2 жыл бұрын
Pat Paradise Rock Stations loves this video!
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
@SuperHBecker
Жыл бұрын
You managed to describe exactly what I feel when I look at this cover. For years I asked myself, "What mysterious place is this?" Thanks to you now I know where it is. According to Google Maps, of all places, the photos were taken from a level well below what is shown in the cover photo. Which leads me to believe that it is not a demolished house, but a two-story house. The same model of chimneys is found on "George St W" street, but clearly due to the angle of the building the picture was not taken from there. I believe the photo was taken at a housing estate on "Ellen St" where a sign on the grass reads: "Boar Hound Close". But everything we see in the photo seems to have been demolished and built what we see today on Google Maps. Please check it out and let me know if you agree.
@TJRtheOriginal
Жыл бұрын
Thanks. I am glad you enjoyed the video. I am sure your research is accurate.
@christopheravola9840
2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting TJR, thank you. As with much of art, I think it can mean whatever you want it to mean.
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Very true
@markjmaxwell9819
2 ай бұрын
That looks like somewhere around Gippsland... 😎🇦🇺
@craigplanting8804
2 жыл бұрын
Somewhere Page explained that the hermit lived in harmony with nature. Then progress/industrial society forced him out of his house and into the slums where is is no longer in harmony with the natural world. There is a poster on one of the city walls which shows a corpse under a sheet. Under the image is the message: "Every day someone is relieved of hunger." I believe the cover has to do with whole Bron-Yr-Aur getting back to nature ascetic.
@calum54
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks TJR I enjoyed that. For your information the place where the antique shop was is not pronounced as it is spelt! It’s pronounced Redding (as in the colour} Barkshire (as in the sound dogs make). English spellings 😳!
@TJRtheOriginal
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the help with that. I sometimes get my UK pronunciations wrong. It comes from being born in a pre internet era and just defaulting to phonetic pronunciation.
@Wyrmwould
10 ай бұрын
Maybe it's Radagast the Brown and inside is Gandalf the Grey watching over Hobbiton?
@better-dayz-r-ahead
9 ай бұрын
How ironic that the discovery of the person’s identity made headlines on the 52nd anniversary of the album’s release?
@johnpeace971
8 ай бұрын
I want to know about the faces hidden in the peeling wallpaper that you need a mirror to see. We found at least 6 in the 80s
@Adrian.Messenger
5 ай бұрын
Really ?
@paulkelso6690
2 жыл бұрын
I heard pagey quoted somewhere, that it's the hermit but also a sign of true completeness. Not macarbe at all imo. But who knows with zeppelin, that's what we love about them is the mystery...like will we ever really know...
@Voyager...2
Жыл бұрын
I don't know why that image is always referred to as a painting when it's obviously a colourized photo. Mills fits the bill perfectly.
@better-dayz-r-ahead
9 ай бұрын
Okay now that one album cover mystery has finally been solved; does anyone know if the cover for PRESENCE (1976) is depicting a real family or is it just simply a painting as previously thought the same for Led Zeppelin IV?
@TJRtheOriginal
8 ай бұрын
It looks like a real photograph to me but with the “object” inserted into the cover.
@TR6Telos
Жыл бұрын
I read Jimmy picked it up at a charity shop.
@slowpawstevet3676
3 ай бұрын
my understanding is that the old man collecting sticks is at one with nature in the past , the crumbling wall represents the past and the tall building in the background represents the future with nature reclaiming the waste ground around the other old buildings, indeed a dichotomy.
@TJRtheOriginal
3 ай бұрын
Good interpretation.
@michaeljoseph9722
2 жыл бұрын
Have you heard of the George Pickingill theory?
@manolokonosko2868
2 жыл бұрын
It’s all speculation. I’ve owned this album since 1982 and never really gave the artwork much thought. If you want the real answers, find a way to interview Robert Plant himself on the subject. It would make an interesting conversation and far better than the dumb fanboi questions he usually gets asked.
@keithjones6023
2 жыл бұрын
Referred to as the Four Symbols or Runes album.
@Katerina9256
2 жыл бұрын
Not by the band...it was just 'the Fourth Album'. It intentionally had no official title.
@briangonigal3974
2 жыл бұрын
@@Katerina9256 That may have been their intention, but when you name your three previous albums "Led Zeppelin", "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin III" and then try to claim your next album has no official name, everyone's gonna just universally call it "Led Zeppelin IV" and most casual listeners will probably never even notice that it never actually says that anywhere on the package itself. (Of course if LZ really wanted to mess with people, they could have then officially titled one of their *later* albums "Led Zeppelin IV". I kinda wish they'd done that.
@Katerina9256
2 жыл бұрын
@@briangonigal3974 😄 that's funny,,,Jimmy probably would have done that if he'd thought of it at the time. Loved to thumb his nose at the critics didn't he? Like saying 'oh they don't like us, well we'll put our next album out in a brown paper bag then '.
@perkins1439
Жыл бұрын
It's Aqualung going to see you Led Zeppelin concert he's going to sell the sticks to buy his ticket
@nc5809
10 ай бұрын
It's a bunch of symbols. Wooohooo
@NoNameNo.5
Жыл бұрын
Look into the 4 symbols…
@JamminClemmons
Жыл бұрын
**NOOOOO!** I want to sleep tonight.
@truthpeddlar9358
Жыл бұрын
SOUTH ACTON ESTATE NOT BIRMINGHAM .
@sarakalisarakali
Жыл бұрын
THERE'S NO NEED TO SHOUT! WE CAN HEAR YOU FINE!
@danreilly2373
Жыл бұрын
What about the Star of David in the lantern? The Hebrew god is the source of light.
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