sfcityduck

What surprises me is that RedBeard first became a serious collector/dealer at the time of OSPG 4. I didn't really start collecting until the time of OSPG 9 and I remember his ads. I would have guessed he'd been part of the first generation of collectors. I double checked OSPG 10 (the first I bought when it came out), and he's got a double page spread ad, which was unusual,in there. So he really must a great net-worker who went from 0 to 60 in a very short amount of time to end up having the connections and opportunities he obtained. I'm reading behind the lines to think that it didn't hurt that he probably had the resources to buy great stuff, but the relationships back then were probably everything. Says a lot of good things about him that he was able to accomplish that. I view Redbeard as a different "generation" of collector/dealer than guys like Bangzoom and others who were active in the 60s. It's interesting to hear his take on the mid-70s and later scene. The way I see it is the guys in the early 60s created the hobby and some small businesses. The guys in the mid-70s made it a big business.

Purely a guess, but I tend to think that Fishler's source was the same employee who sold books in the 70s. Think about it. The Poughkeepsie file copies showed up in the late 70s, and Fishler's employee source died in 1980. Ultimately, 23 years later, the employee's daughter sells what's left of the employee's holdings to Fishler. Fishler, who knows the history of the Poughkeepsie file copies, calls the books he buys in 2003 Poughkeepsie file copies. I infer, a guess, that Fishler called them that because he knew they were the last bit of the batch taken by the employee. The books the employee had left when he died.

The Random House Archives were sold by Heritage in 2005. I still have an auction catalog. And this is what Fishler has to say about Poughkeepsie File Copies, but it appears he's talking about a batch he bought around 2003 (adding further confusion):

Not sure I'd agree that other better copies necessarily exist. My impression has always been that the number of Dell file copies for any given title is not as huge as you are speculating. And many of those file copies are not of the highest grade. I have seen many books where the top rated file copy is a 9.4 and fewer where the top graded copy is a 9.6.

John Nichols was his name. It may take a while, but it comes back.

Good info on the page quality, that is consistent with what I've observed - thanks. I may be confusing the Poughkeepsie books with the ones with the Racine Wisconsin stamp:

Subscription copies of this vintage have the subscribers address printed (not a mailing label) in a white space created on the back cover of the book for that purpose. As a result, the art on the back covers of the book differs from regular copies. It is neat, because you know the name and address of the original owner. Later 1950s vintage WDC&S have the address printed on the front cover, which is not aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.

WDC&S 140 8.0 (white). CGC got the grade exactly right on this. Too bad, they got the info wrong. This is the 3rd Barks' Scrooge cover, not the 2nd. Frankly, this is my preferred grade for comics I want to display on the walll. I'm sort of afraid to display the super high grade copies (fear hurting the books), so I'm very inclined to downgrade to 8.0-9.0 to have copies I don't feel bad about putting them out in the room (these pictures make me realize I need a scanner):

FC 372 8.5 off-white/white (tied for second on census with three other copies). The first time Scrooge was featured on a cover (two prior appearances were cameo or crowd-shot):

CGC surprised me on this WDC&S 97 (last Mickey cover on Dell title). This is the nicest 7.5 off-white/white you'll ever see. I think they hammered if for having "light subscription crease," but I still don't see it. They must use a magnifying glass to locate it:

WDC&S 137 (subscription variant) 9.4 white back from CGC today. This is tied with one other book, a Dell File Copy, for top of Census, but mine has higher page quality (white v. ow/w for the file copy). I tried to get CGC to note this as a subscription variant, but they would not, despite the fact that there are differences in the back cover art (and sometimes front cover art) for the subscription variants. This one is super cool because it is a true "unicorn," a subscription copy without a subscription crease that ranks as the best copy! (sorry about picture quality):

I posted these elsewhere, but they belong here. Just back (last week and today) from CGC: FC 328 9.6 off-white/white. This one tops the census with two others which are Dell File Copies. I like this one because of the stamp. I don't know if it would have rated higher than the file copies if it didn't have the stamp (they don't), but I like it:

I remember the "Poughkeepsie file copies" from getting the catalogs of the Barks' dealer (what was the name?) who did the Barks' Collector back in the 1980 (and I also remember the subsequent "Rand-McNally archives" sold by Heritage in 2005). But, a lot of what they now call "Dell File copies" from Poughkeepsie have a distracting stamps on the cover and I've notice that ones that don't tend to have a page quality that is less than white. Which is why I'm pretty happy with, coincidentally, a book I just got from CGC. It's a true "Unicorn," because while it rates out tied with the highest copy (a Dell File Copy), it (1) has better page quality (white instead ow-w) AND my copy is a subscription variant! Yep, a subscription copy with no subscription crease that beats out a file copy. IMHO, this is the kind of book that makes the hunt worthwhile because how many of these can there be? (Apologies for my poor picture quality, colors are much more vibrant in person):

I always enjoy getting the wisdom of the early dealers. You see the Dell file copies up for sale on Heritage every once in a while. One of the things I've noticed about those file copies, though, is the page quality is often not white. Consequently, I've got a coupy The Dentist's kid has been auctioning off Harvey file copies for years now on eBay. But, I haven't seen real early stuff. 50s appears relatively common. I think its great when the early dealers start sharing their stories and wisdom.

Except for the scammer with the two fakes.

Yep. WDC&S 140 is a great book. Not only is it Scrooge's first appearance on a cover in that title (and 3rd Scrooge cover appearance by Barks), but it's the first Gyro Gearloose. I have one that just landed in the mail back from CGC (haven't seen it yet). I'm hoping it presents well. Your 98 (1st App. of Scrooge in interior of WDC&S) has a beautiful Halloween cover. Your U.S. 3 is also very nice. The blue cover shows a lot of flaws, but your book presents well. I haven't found one that looks good yet.

There are a bunch. https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?IVGroupID=22687999

Metropolis told me the Action 1 9.0 was over graded when I asked them their opinion of it at SDCC BEFORE hey bought it for a record price.. I believe Vincent was also quoted in the press talking it down before they boughtt it. Like many other dealers, they tend to change their opinions based on the situation - puffing up here, talking down there.

It's not just Heritage and Hakes and other auctioneers getting this wrong, I just got back my WDC&S 140 from CGC and they are noting it as as "2nd Carl Barks Uncle Scrooge cover," when it is really the 3rd. I was surprised to discover the import of FC 353 as Barks' first US cover, but more surprised that folks have been getting the chronology of Scrooge cover appearances so wrong for so long.

I thought New Fun / More Fun was a really desirable title. I remember Mark Zaid telling stories about how Borock sold him on trying to amass the run by pointing out the historical import. So many cool things happen in that run: 1st DC, 1st Science Fiction cover, Superman tryouts, early S&S, Action ad, many hero debuts (Spectre, Dr. Fate, Aquaman, Green Arrow and Speedy, Superboy, etc.). I always thought it was a highly desired title.

If someone can do it, it would be someone on this board. But, my guess is you'll need to go all "Dead Sea Scrolls scholar" and separate the layers to get more imagery before anyone can give you help. To my eyes, it looks like a circa mid-30s to 40s western or adventure character (think Roy Crane's Capt. Easy or Wash Tubbs who often wore shirts without collars and appeared in comics starting in the mid-30s). But, that's a shot in the dark given the paucity of information.

This is the response I was expecting. Thanks!

Just curious. I have the opportunity to buy high grade (raw, but look 9.8) Gold Key Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics from the first half of the 1970s. Does anyone collect these comics? I would only be buying them to get them slabbed and then sell as these are not my collecting goal. Waste of time? Thanks.

Gary and Mark did an article on ashcans for one of the Price Guides. The below low quality image is from the Grand Comic Database, which has this to say about it:

Oh ... I agree it's a better looking and better reading book. But, the first appearance of Scrooge is probably the most important Duck book in my opinion. He's the only major Disney character that I know, one that has headlined two animated series, to be created in a comic book.