Robert Plant announces presenting of a new album…
Today marks the 51st anniversary of Led Zeppelin IV, an album that revolutionized rock music and solidified the band’s place in music history. Featuring timeless tracks like “Black Dog” and the legendary “Stairway to Heaven,” the album is as famous for its groundbreaking sound as it is for its striking cover art. The cover, depicting an elderly man hunched under the weight of a bale of twigs, has long intrigued fans and art historians alike.
In a remarkable twist of fate, a recent discovery by Brian Edwards, a research fellow at the University of the West of England, has shed new light on the origins of this iconic image. While browsing online auction sites in March, Edwards stumbled upon a Victorian photo album that contained a strikingly similar photograph. “There was something familiar about it straight away,” he recounted in an interview with The New York Times.
Edwards reached out to the Wiltshire Museum, which had acquired the photo album, and through meticulous research, identified the photographer as Ernest Howard Farmer. The elderly man in the photograph was revealed to be Lot Long, a local thatcher from the village of Mere. “It sounds like good detective work, but in truth, there was a lot of luck involved,” Edwards confessed, acknowledging the serendipitous nature of his find.
The origins of the album cover remain somewhat shrouded in mystery. Legend has it that Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page discovered a colorized version of the photo while exploring an antique shop. This serendipitous encounter would ultimately lead to the creation of one of rock’s most enduring visual symbols.
In celebration of this iconic album’s legacy, the Wiltshire Museum is set to host an exhibition featuring over 100 images from the Victorian photo album. The exhibit, titled “Capturing Wiltshire: The Spirit of People and Landscapes,” will run from April 6 to September 15, 2024, offering a unique glimpse into the lives and landscapes of Wiltshire and Dorset during that era.
As fans reflect on the monumental impact of Led Zeppelin IV, this new discovery provides a fascinating intersection of music history and local heritage, reminding us of the intricate stories that lie behind the art we cherish.
