Man on Led Zeppelin IV Cover Identified 52 Years After Album’s Release
A researcher recently discovered the original picture—of a thatcher named Lot Long—in a Victorian era photo album at an auction house

November 8, 2023
Led Zeppelin IV album cover
Exactly 52 years after the release of Led Zeppelin’s fourth studio album—widely referred to as Led Zeppelin IV—the identity of the man gracing its cover has been revealed, The Guardian and The New York Times report. The cover artwork famously features an elderly man hinged at the waist, weighed down by a bale of long twigs strapped to his back. Now, a research fellow in South West England named Brian Edwards has discovered that the original source of the scene: a late Victorian era photograph of a Wiltshire thatcher named Lot Long.