The Beatles 'Yesterday and Today' Second State Cover

This exceptionally rare second-state copy of The Beatles’ Yesterday and Today retains a portion of the original “Butcher Cover” still visible beneath the replacement artwork. The album was first issued with the now-infamous image of the band posed among raw meat and dismembered doll parts—a cover that provoked immediate public backlash. Capitol Records quickly recalled the release and, rather than discarding the existing stock, pasted a more conventional image of the group seated around a steamer trunk directly over the controversial artwork. While many collectors later peeled away these replacement slicks to reveal the Butcher image in full, true second-state examples remain scarce.

This particular LP stands out even among those few. The paste-over slick was applied slightly off-center, leaving a small but unmistakable portion of the original Butcher artwork visible at the lower left corner. Such manufacturing anomalies are exceedingly uncommon, making this one of the very few documented second-state Butcher Covers that partially reveal the underlying image.

Accompanied by the original cardboard cover and paper slip, this LP represents one of the rarest and most desirable collectibles in Beatles memorabilia, offering a tangible connection to one of the most infamous and fascinating moments in the band’s history.