Volume 1, Number 1
Mar 1995

Pedigree Comics II

[This continues the story begun in the December issue of theAlkaline Paper Advocate, in which the author told how the Church ("Mile High") Collection of comic books, originally published between 1939 and 1953, was discovered in 1977, in pristine condition. Comic books known to have come from well-preserved collections can command very high prices, so the potential purchaser does well to inquire about a book's "pedigree." The author has photographed over 12,000 of the originals from the Church Collection, in order to document and authenticate them.]

How is authentification done?

Mile High Comics have an indicative smell in the interior pages. The smell is unique, but takes a few hundred comics and thousands of sniffs before that art is mastered. Another way is by the distributor markings which changed with the times and the persons doing the marking. Experts in the field are familiar with correct markings establishing authenticity. Another way is comparing the issue in question to Chuck Rozanski's original list and grades. Another alternative is examining the presence of a certain type of "dust shadows" on the back cover. A final test is the history of ownership; most copies can easily be tracked back to Chuck. All the above means are used to determine authenticity.

Value of the "Church" Copies

On the whole, no collection compares with the all-around high quality of its copies, particularly, the lightness of the interior pages, the paper suppleness, the strong color intensity of the cover, and the "feel" of being a newsstand fresh copy, even after 40 years! Certainly, there are individual copies of non-Church comic books that technically are of a better grade, perhaps because of fewer physical flaws. Many of the Church copies have minor flaws on the spine, likely due to the printing and folding process. However, most experts in comic books agree that near-mint copies of "Church" copies are more desirable than mint copies of other origin.

When Chuck started selling books from the collection he was charging 3 times the then-"Guide" price. That approximate multiple has varied up and down slightly since then. However, for the last several years copies have consistently sold from 2.8 times current Guide to 5.5 times Guide. We sold a few up to the record of 9 times Guide. Is this an unreasonable price? No, not when you consider that they are unique, one of a kind. When you own the "Mile High" copy, you own the single best copy in existence of that issue. Currently in the comic book market, a nice mint comic book without pedigree or known origin will sell for 2 to 2.5 times Guide. So in reality, the true premium is only approximately 1-1/2. In the stamp collecting industry, it is not abnormal for a perfect specimen (stamps are specimens) to sell for 30 to 50 times that of an average specimen. Collectors of the world want the best, and you have to pay for what you get. With the "Church" collection, you are getting the best.

The "San Francisco" Collection

The San Francisco Collection walked into the door of Comics and Comix Book Store in 1976. The owners at that time were John Barrett and Bud Plant. The collection consisted of approximately 2,000 mint and near-mint comics from the 1940s. Most consider this to be the second finest collection as far as quality is concerned. The pages are about as white as the "Church" copies and many of the copies are technically in better physical condition. However, they are not as supple; they are somewhat stiffer and the colors are not quite as rich as the "Church" collection.

Most copies can be identified by a stamped signature on the back cover. It is a very small mark and has the name of Tom Reilly, who may have been the original owner. Additionally, the arrival dates generally begin with a G plus the consistent handwriting of the distributor markings.

Initially they were sold for approximately 20% over the then Guide values. That has crept up consistently to a now common 2.5 times Guide.

The Lamont Larson Collection

The Larson collection originated in Nebraska, which is all Joe Tricarchy would tell me about his find early in the 1980s. His comics told the rest of the story. There were approximately 2,500 comics in Mr. Larson's collection. They spanned the years from super hero beginning to the late 1940s. He did have the habit of pencilling his first or last name on the cover of his comic books. He also pencilled in several coupons in late 1939. From those coupons it appeared that he was about 8 years old in 1939. On some copies, he just pencilled an L, and some had only the discount purchase price pencilled in. In most cases, the collector's pencil marks would detract from the value of a comic book, but in this case it enhances the value since it makes it an identifiable pedigree copy.

Lamont Larson took very good care of his collection. No, not as good as Church or Tim Reilly, but maybe that was because it was more humid in Nebraska. Many of his copies have slight foxing speckles on the cover and in parts of the insides. (Foxing is the remnants of past active mold.) However, many copies are near-mint to mint, the pages are slightly yellowed, but, as a collection, many would categorize it as third best. If you have a copy, don't erase his name.

Most Larson copies were originally sold at near Guide prices. Those have again slowly migrated upward to the pres-ent level of approximately 1.5 to 2-1/4 times Guide. Lamont, if you are reading this book, give me a call; I'd sure like to know more about how you accumulated this historic collection.

Other Known Pedigree Collections

Cosmic Aeroplane Collection: A comic book store known as the Cosmic Aeroplane in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1979 came across a high grade collection of about 2,000 comics dating from the mid 1940s to mid 1950s. Most of the interior pages had occasional light pencil check marks next to certain panels of art. Apparently an art instructor used the comics as samples to teach students how to achieve the creativity of the current comic book artists.

Back in 1979, I purchased a number of these issues. The supple and white condition of the pages far outweighed the apparent detractor of multiple pencil checkmarks. Today they sell for approximately 1.5 times Guide.

The Denver Collection, not only unrelated to the "Church Collection," in fact did not even originate in Denver. In 1938 a "little old lady" began buying only #1 issues and storing them away for investment purposes. She lived in Pennsylvania. After she passed away, her estate was auctioned off to a family from Denver, Colorado, the Leis. They subsequently contacted several comic book dealers in the country and finally sold it to James Payette who flew out personally to inspect the collection. It consisted of 153 #1 issues, including many of the most sought-after super-hero number 1 issues. This collection was obtained in early 1984 and quickly sold for approximately 2 times Guide.

The Denver copies, for the most part, are technically strong near-mint to mint. However, due to their storage in a relatively moist climate, the pages are slightly yellowed. In some cases they are the best copy in existence.

Other pedigree collections that have surfaced through the years are the "Allentown" collection found by Jim Payette in 1988, the "Pennsylvania" collection (most covers have a pencilled P) found in 1983, the "Indian" collection found a few years ago by Gary Carter, the "Truckee" collection found by yours truly in 1978, and likely a few others that have not reached the prominence of those earlier mentioned collections and generally sell fairly close to non-pedigree, near-mint to mint comics.

There have been numerous "warehouse" finds. These are generally defunct publishers' left-over file copies. Most of these have surfaced during the last 6 years. Many have technically mint covers, but are supplanted from the pedigree list because of chronic browning of comic pages and, in particular, the page edges. Most "warehouse" finds sell below Guide.

The comic book collecting hobby and its resultant industry owes its thanks to those few collectors who were able to do what 100,000,000 were unable to do: maintain important sociological links with our past.