Figure on Led Zeppelin IV cover identified as Victorian Wiltshire thatcher

For Led Zeppelin fans it is an instantly recognisable image: that of a grey-bearded figure stooping, his leathery hands grasping the pole supporting a bundle of hazel on his back. But the origin of the image, which forms the centrepiece of the eye-catching front cover of Led Zeppelin IV, has remained a mystery for more than half a century. Now it has been revealed that it is a late-Victorian black

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“ he came across the image in a photograph album during continuing research extending from an exhibition he curated with Wiltshire Museum in 2021.”