Collecting UK pressings of Abbey Road is a relatively straightforward business when compared to other Beatles albums. This was the band’s first album to be released in stereo only. By late 1969, most LPs were stereo-only releases and many of those that did appear in mono, The Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed for example, were merely a fold-down of the stereo master tape, rather than a dedicated mono mix.
All of the original Abbey Road covers were manufactured by Garrod & Lofthouse and feature the internal flaps rather than the flip-back design found on original copies of The Beatles’ earlier releases. The first covers that were printed showed the green Apple logo misaligned with the rear cover text, appearing offset to the left. Later covers shifted the Apple logo over to the right, in alignment with the tracklisting and credits.