Led Zeppelin IV is no doubt one of the greatest rock albums of all time. But what has been in doubt since Led Zeppelin released the LP exactly 52 years ago today (November 8th, 1971) has been the identity of the man on the cover — until now.
As reported by The Guardian, new research has identified the bearded man with a walking stick and a bundle of twigs on his back as a Victorian-era Wiltshire thatcher named Lot Long (also known as Lot Longyear). The discovery was made by Brian Edwards, a visiting research fellow at the University of the West of England.
Edwards stumbled upon the original black & white photo while researching an exhibition he curated with Wiltshire Museum in 2021.
“Led Zeppelin created the soundtrack that has accompanied me since my teenage years, so I really hope the discovery of this Victorian photograph pleases and entertains Robert [Plant], Jimmy [Page] and John Paul [Jones],” Edwards said.
It is believed that Plant first came upon a colored version of the photograph while visiting an antique shop near Page’s home in Pangbourne, Berkshire.
Edwards found the original picture in a photo album titled “Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892. A present to Auntie from Ernest.” The photo itself was captioned “A Wiltshire thatcher.”
Upon further research, Edwards found out that the thatcher, Long, was born in Mere in 1823 and died in 1893. When the photograph was taken, he was a widower living on Shaftesbury Road in Mere. Edwards further learned that the photographer was a man by the name of Ernest Howard Farmer.
The original photo now resides at the Wiltshire Museum, where it will be the focus of an exhibition set to run from April 6th through September 15th, 2024.
David Dawson, the museum’s director, commented, “Through the exhibition, we will show how Farmer captured the spirit of people, villages and landscapes of Wiltshire and Dorset that were so much of a contrast to his life in London. It is fascinating to see how this theme of rural and urban contrasts was developed by Led Zeppelin and became the focus for this iconic album cover 70 years later.”
Led Zeppelin IV is one of the biggest-selling rock albums of all time, having moved an estimated 37 million copies worldwide. The LP contains classic tracks such as “Going to California,” “Black Dog,” and “Stairway to Heaven,” among others.
The original image and the album cover can both be seen below.
Led Zeppelin IV Album Artwork:
