Led Zeppelin album photo sells for £16k

A VICTORIAN print of the image used for the iconic cover of Led Zeppelin's bestselling album has sold at auction for £16,000.

- JAMES GAMBLE [e-mail]

> A Victorian print of the image used for the iconic cover

(Denhams Auctioneers)

The same image in the rare photographic gelatin silver print, depicting Wiltshire thatcher Lot Long, was used by the rock band for the cover of their 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV.

The print was developed from the original negative and bears a partial exhibition label inscribed 'Devonshire Thatcher'.

The seller - the widow of a collector - is said to have had no idea of its value. The print was estimated to sell for between £1,500 and £2,000 at Denhams Auctioneers' sale. But it sold for eight times its upper estimate at auction, with a final hammer price of £16,000.