Who's carrying the sticks?

[belzant]

On the cover of LZ IV who's carrying the heavy load & what's his background?

Is he related any of the band members?

What's his significance? Is there a story attached to him or is he just passing by?

I think his stick bundle looks a bit like a zeppelin - Are his sticks related in any way to 'Four Sticks'?

[Hots on for nowhere]

the only story is jimmy and robert saw the picture in a store and bought it to use on the front cover becaseu they liked it and jimmy explained as "being one with nature, the man uses nature to live, without nature he couldnt live and without him nature couldnt live"

[3hrsoflunacy]

On the cover of LZ IV who's carrying the heavy load & what's his background?

Most people don't know this, but that is really Jimmy Page in one stage of makeup used for his aging scene in The Song Remains the Same movie. They had some free time in between takes, so the lads commissioned an artist to capture the moment in time.

Obviously, the shape is reminiscent of the heavy airships of the past because it's a Led Zeppelin album after all!! The load on his back signifies the weight of the Led Zeppelin legacy he would have to carry for the rest of his life. When they (RP, JP, JB) signed their pact with the devil in return for fame and fortune, satan himself told Jimmy that he would have to be the torchbearer as tragedy was in their future and the Golden God himself would turn heel and dash the dreams and hopes of all people in the future by turning into a hillbilly and abstaining from future Led Zeppelin reunion concerts that he certainly OWED everyone.

Unfortunately, the original plan was to use the little monkees Jimmy befriended during their time in India, but the British government wouldn't allow their entry. So, they had to settle for a bunch of wood that Mick Hinton, Richard Cole and Bonzo kept around for whittling into monster drumsticks between pints after the shows.

So, I hope this answers your question and gives a little insight into the mind of Jimmy Page.

[Reggie29]

Most people don't know this, but that is really Jimmy Page in one stage of makeup used for his aging scene in The Song Remains the Same movie. They had some free time in between takes, so the lads commissioned an artist to capture the moment in time.

That's impossible as VI was released in 1971 and TSRTS was filmed between 1973 and 1976!

I thought it was his Uncle Turner!

As for the rest of your post I hope your tongue was planted firmly in your cheek!

[3hrsoflunacy]

That's impossible as VI was released in 1971 and TSRTS was filmed between 1973 and 1976!

I thought it was his Uncle Turner!

As for the rest of your post I hope your tongue was planted firmly in your cheek!

Yes, I know all the release dates; and if anyone actually believes anything after the 2nd word.....well, I guess the joke's on them.

[Reggie29]

Yes, I know all the release dates; and if anyone actually believes anything after the 2nd word.....well, I guess the joke's on them.

The jokes on you pal!

[Deborah J]

the only story is jimmy and robert saw the picture in a store and bought it to use on the front cover becaseu they liked it and jimmy explained as "being one with nature, the man uses nature to live, without nature he couldnt live and without him nature couldnt live"

This is taken from the book Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin by Jon Bream

Page had a concept for the cover to complement the folk-myth lyrics Plant had written for "Stairway To Heaven", the centerpiece of the new LP. "Robert and I came up with the design of IV together", the guitarist said to Guitar World. "Robert had actually bought the print that is on the cover from a junk shop in Reading. We then came up with the idea of having the picture--the man with the sticks--represent the old way on a demolished building, with the new way coming up behind it. The illustration on the inside was my idea. It is the Hermit character from the Tarot, a symbol of self-reliance and wisdom, and it was drawn by Barrington Colby. The typeface for the lyrics to "Stairway" was also my contribution. I found it in a really old arts ad crafts magazine called Studio, which started in the late 1800's. I thought it was so interesting, I got someone to work up the whole alphabet".

[reswati]

George P is carrying the sticks.

[SteveAJones]

George P is carrying the sticks.

...more on this as well as the location of the actual buildings is in the Zeppelin Mysteries thread...

[Deborah J]

...more on this as well as the location of the actual buildings is in the Zeppelin Mysteries thread...

How do I find that thread?? Your post are always so informative...THANK YOU!!

[reswati]

More subtle than the giant image of the Hermit inside of Led Zeppelin IV, is the album's actual cover art. The image on the front of the record jacket is of an old man with a bundle of sticks on his back. According to Jimmy Page, he and Robert found the image strictly by chance: "I used to spend a lot of time going to junk shops looking for things that other people might have missed. Robert was on a search with me one time, and we went to this place in Reading where things were just piled up on one another. Robert found the picture of the old man with the sticks and suggested that we work it into our cover somehow. So we decided to contrast the modern skyscraper on the back with the old man with the sticks - you see the destruction of the old, and the new coming forward."

Of course all of that may or may not be true, as the image on the cover bears a striking resembelence to English cunningcrafter "Old George" Pickingill. Pickingill was allegedly the teacher of occult mage Aleister Crowley, and has taken on a sort of mythic significance in the occult world.

Here's a pic of Pickingill

George Pickingill was a legend in his own time, a feared “Cunning Man” by local residents, a sought after Witch and Magician by those in occult circles. Born to Charles and Susannah Pickingill (nee Cudner) on the 26th May 1816, George was the eldest of nine children. They lived in a small Essex village called Hockley in East Anglia, from where he later he moved to the nearby village of Canewdon, were he remained until his death in 1909.

“Old George” as he became known, was a hereditary witch and claimed he could trace his ancestry back to the time of “Julia Pickingill – The Witch of Brandon”, who lived in a village north of Thetford in Norfolk. Julia as legend would have it, was hired in 1071 to make magical chants for the troops of “Lord Harewood the Wake”, inspiring them into battle against the Normans. During the battle, Julia was seen standing in a wooden tower overlooking the two opposing armies where her chants could be heard across the battlefield. Her chants seemed to be working, but then the Normans set fire to the dry reeds around the tower and Julia died in the flames. Since that time each generation of the Pickingill family have served as Priests and Priestesses in the Old Religion.

Old George like his father was a humble farm worker, yet all who knew him held him in awe. Many of the local village folk were afraid of him and his mysterious abilities, it was said he could set magical imps to work bring in the harvest and that they could clear a field in half an hour while he sat under a tree and smoked a pipe. He was not well liked in the village and even feared, it was said that he terrorized the villagers for money and beer threatening to blight their crops should they refuse him. Despite this he would charm their warts and dispense cures, and was sometimes called in to settle their disputes.

In occult circles he was highly regarded, and was widely acknowledged as the worlds foremost authority on Witchcraft, Satanism and Black Magick. Overtime, many of the days leading Witches, Satanists, Rosicrucian’s, Ceremonial Magicians and other magically inclined people, came from all over England, Europe and the United States to consult with him. As his reputation grew, Old George became just as infamous as Aleister Crowley was in his time. He was also known to have encouraged Satanism, which horrified other Craft Elders who considered him a renegade and a disgrace to the craft.

Over the course of his lifetime, Old George established a total of nine hereditary covens, situated in Norfolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Sussex and Hampshire. In many ways he was a zealot, for when he started a new coven; he insisted its leaders produce evidence that they came from hereditary witch lineage. Each coven that he formed worshiped the “Horned God” and used a basic set of rites, though he was constantly changing, embellishing and introducing new concepts as they developed. All rituals were conducted by women and involved ritual nudity and sexual inductions.

The Pickingill’s including Old George were renowned for their allegiance to the Horned God and adopted many ancient Craft practices that were not observed in other parts of the country. The rites developed by the Pickingill tradition were a unique blend of French and Scandinavian craft practices. This was due in part by the influx of French and Flemish weavers into East Anglia, who introduced elements of the Cathar faith and the Old Religion as observed in France during the Middle Ages. Old George used a basic format for each of his covens, but he was always re-writing, revising and introducing new concepts into their rituals, therefore each of his nine covens though similar, none were exactly the same.

Up until Old George’s time, many existing covens were based on oral tradition, their knowledge and rituals having been passed down from generation to generation, and instilled upon their members by repetition, memory and practice. This in part due to the secrecy imposed on witches during the “burning times”, inevitably led to some fragments of their traditions being lost over time. However, some hereditary covens kept a “coven rulebook” that contained a list of all the coven members and outlined the covens basic rites. For safekeeping, the book was always held by the coven’s secret “male” deputy (often referred to as the “Man in Black”), and only made available on special occasions at the Master’s bidding to add/delete names or transfer authority. No members, particularly woman, were ever permitted to read it. This may have been due to the opinion that a woman would reveal the location of the book if her children were tortured in front of her, whereas a man probably would not.

As the fear of the “Witch-hunts” began to decline in the later half of the 18th century, Old George always willing to change, adapt and evolve took the idea of the coven rulebook and developed it, starting the tradition of keeping a “Book of Shadows” for the exclusive use of all coven members. The original Book of Shadows as compiled by Old George and modified over a period of his lifetime was then passed on to each of his nine covens, a legacy that lives on today. Many think Aleister Crowley passed on the details of one of Old George’s Book of Shadows to Gerald Gardner who adopted the same into his own tradition. The concept of keeping an individual “Book of Shadows” in your own handwriting, evidently originated from Alex Sanders who founded the Alexandrian Tradition witchcraft.

Aleister Crowley is reported to have been a member of one of Old George’s covens in or around 1899. He is thought to have obtained his Second Degree before being dismissed because of his contemptuous attitude toward women and his deplorable behaviour. Other pupils of note were two Master Masons by the names of “Hargrave Jennings” and “W.J. Hughan”. Both later become founder members of the “Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia”; from which the “Order of the Golden Dawn” would eventually emerge. Doreen Valiente in her book “Witchcraft for Tomorrow” alleges that Jennings consulted with Old George and conspired with him to concoct a cipher manuscript (Cipher MS), which led to the founding of the Golden Dawn. However such claims have since been discredited.

Aside from his famous “Nine Covens”, there was a more sinister side to “Old George” for which he became notorious. Old George had an intense dislike for Christianity and local authority. He openly campaigned for the overthrow of the Christian Religion and the establishment in generally. Some claim he even collaborate with Satanists, because he believed that by promoting Satanism, he was helping to ensure the destruction of the Christian church. This brought him into conflict with other Craft Elders who strongly objected to his activities.

Contrary to popular belief for many misinformed articles were sensationalized in the Press during those times. Witches do not believe in “devil-worship”, nor do they invoke Satan during ritual to carry out evil deeds. Satan and the Devil are by-products of Christianity and have nothing to do with the Old Religion. The Old Religion was being practiced well before Christianity came along. This in mind, the other Craft Elders had good cause for objecting to what “Old George” was advocating, preferring secrecy and discretion to the unwanted attention he was arousing.

After Old George’s death in 1909 and some 30 years on, Gerald B. Gardner was initiated into one of his descendent covens in Hampshire. He and others began writing openly about Wicca and Witchcraft. Gardner met with Aleister Crowley shortly before his death and Crowley “allegedly” passed on what he could remember of the old Pickingill rituals, these Gardner “allegedly” incorporated into his own Book of Shadows. When in 1951 the old antiquated witchcraft laws were repealed, causing a resurgence of interest in the Old Religion. Many of the Craft Elders became concerned fearing that exposure of Old George’s satanic activities would distort and damage the newly evolving image of Wicca and Witchcraft.

To protect against this, the Elders of the Hereditary Tradition in East Anglia conspired to discredit any claims made by Gardner and others concerning the survival of Hereditary Witches. This in part involved the eradication of many traces of “Old George” and his “Nine Covens” as was possible. Today as a result, the real importance of Old George’s contributions to the revival of present day witchcraft may never be determined.

[Hotplant]

Great read Res.

[SteveAJones]

How do I find that thread?? Your post are always so informative...THANK YOU!!

Search or scroll thru the Led Zeppelin Main Forum for "Zeppelin Mysteries Hosted By..."

Edit: Another great way to use this site is search "members", find your favorite(s), put

the cursor to the right of their profile photo (an arrow will appear) and then select "View Members Posts" which allows you to scroll thru every post they've ever made to this forum.

[ro_a]

don't know about y'all, but this turned into an hour of thread hopping for me.

My fascination with this bundle of sticks and the man carrying them is that they seem to not impose a burden, that is, the bundle seems magnetically attached. How does he do that? Does this increase his productivity as a farm laborer? My sources say yes.

The orientation of the sticks and Zeppelin shapes from the albums point to 10 or 11 o'clock, like a reverse of the male symbol, a strong erection to the left. This is true of the DVD cover as well, where the Zeppelin is outlined as a cloud formation.

[BonzoLikeDrumer]

Think I read some where some time ago that the picture was taken in Israel, the wall of a bombed out building left over from the war in the late 1940's, don't know about the drawing in the frame. Don't know if this is true or not but I do believe that they (Led Zeppelin) had found it in a junk shop.

[Cofa]

Think I read some where some time ago that the picture was taken in Israel, the wall of a bombed out building left over from the war in the late 1940's, don't know about the drawing in the frame. Don't know if this is true or not but I do believe that they (Led Zeppelin) had found it in a junk shop.

Israel?

I always thought it was Dudley.

[SteveAJones]

Israel?

I always thought it was Dudley.

You are correct.

The tower block on the back cover is of Butterfield Court in Dudley, England (not the now demolished Prince of Wales Court, as is sometimes incorrectly stated).

Butterfield Court sits high atop a ridge and can be seen 25 miles away from rural Worcestershire and Shropshire and on a clear day from over 45 miles away in Wales.

Photo link: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=408485

Jimmy & Robert claim they purchased the painting which hangs upon the wall from a

thrift shop in Reading, which is not far from Jimmy's home at the time in Pangbourne.