Sao Paulo
Who is this guy? Where did it come from? This question can now be answered. After 52 years, rock fans have some information about the man featured on the cover of 1971’s “Led Zeppelin IV.” The album has sold more than 35 million copies and includes the classic “Stairway to Heaven” in its repertoire. Nothing was ever known about the little gentleman in question.
The original late Victorian photograph was recently discovered in an album by researcher Brian Edwards. Now it will be part of a new exhibition at the Wiltshire Museum in England, which is expected to open next year.
Research suggests that the elderly man with a gray beard, grasping a staff with his hands carrying the bundle of sticks on his back, may be Lot Long (18231893), also known as Lot Longyear, a craftsman installing thatched roofs in the town of Mere in southwest Wiltshire. He was a widower and lived in a small cottage on Shaftesbury Road.
The image was taken by photographer and photography teacher Ernest Howard Farmer (18561944), who at the time sought to capture the spirit of the people, villages and landscapes of Wiltshire and Dorset, as well as the everyday lives of farm workers.
“Led Zeppelin created the soundtrack that has accompanied me since my teenage years, so I really hope that the discovery of this Victorian photograph pleases and entertains Robert, Jimmy and John Paul,” said Brian Edwards of the band members.
Interestingly, the members of Led Zeppelin themselves seemed to have little idea of the identity of the man on the cover. It was singer Robert Plant who discovered the picture in an antique shop near guitarist Jimmy Page’s home in Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. Until then, the origin was a mystery.