sfcityduck

Probably not as they seem to have been in production for quite some time. But, I am confident it would be accurate to say the spinner style dates back to the 60s and maybe even 50s.

Robot Man, You posted a pic of your very nice looking rack with the bottom piece in place over on the GA forums once. I remember it well. I might be able to track it down. There's a thread over there on GA racks, and I've been waiting for you to notice it. I had to track down one of your pictures (not of the Dell rack) to post in it.

I think some of those "Hey Kids" comic racks easily date back to the 60s, and based on one that Zaid posted about, may even date back to the 50s.

I keep waiting for Robotman to drop by. He's got a nice Dell rack, which is where I'm going next, as well as a collection of the "slot signs" used on racks. These include not just some of the DC "slot signs" seen above, but also slot signs for Joe Palooka and "Boy Illustories" (Boy Comics). So I guess we need to add Harvey and Lev Gleason to the list of publishers who had a rack presence, although I've never seen anything other than these slot signs from those publishers. Could have been used in countertop racks:

The Dell racks originally did not have a bottom sign. Same for the wood DC and Gold Key racks that look like this. There is a wood Classics illustrated rack that had a bottom sign. I have seen Dell racks in both blue and yellow lettering, and also a blue and pink lettering version. I think that is original, as I've also seen a pink Dell spinner rack sign.

I have a Richie Rich/Spidey/Archie/Superman rack with five sides. I believe "Hey Kids" come in that format also.

My knowledge of DC GA racks is now exhausted. Moving on, here's a great Ziff-Davis rack: I've seen two of these. Really really cool to me because I've never thought of Ziff-Davis as aiming for the "Wholesome" market.

Continuing on with the DC GA, Jon Berk's rack sold for $3,433: Billed as a "1950s rack," the presence of the CCA stamp reveals it is a Silver Age rack. This rack, on the other hand, has no CCA stamp, so I think it is a GA rack from the early 50s (repainted blue):

Once correction of catrick, Dell spinners did NOT have CCA logos. Dell was never part of the CCA. I agree with Hepcat that Dell has some great graphics on their racks, but worth noting that Gold Key continued that tradition and also has some great graphics. DC in the 60s also had some neat graphics.

CCA spinner in action (some say its a shot of Boris Karloff and his granddaughter in 1958): Totally awesome.

Nelvana totally rocks! I'd rate Venus way above Namora! Hawkgirl seems under appreciated given her significance to the early GA. x2 for Mary Marvel!

The market for the good comic racks is strong. Skys the limit for the GA DC racks and DC wood rack as I've seen those hit has high as mid-four figures. Marvel racks also reach four figures if you can find them. Dell wood racks can hit $1000 based on condition. Dell postage stamp rack and the circular top spinning rack as well. Gold Key wooden and circular top spinner are also easily over $500 and can probably hit $1000. Generic "Hey Kids" racks and the Richie Rich / Spidey / Archie / Superman" racks are probably most common and cheapest. Problem with buying racks is that shipping is a pain. So the market is often local.

I definitely remember that one and this one from that time period: I think red/white/blue is the more common of the two.

Based on my memories, the "Hey Kids, Comics" spinner would be a good bet. I think the "Richie Rich/Spidey/Archie/Supes" racks came later.

As comic collectors, we just become desensitized to hype. Everything becomes a "key," and "prototypes" abound even when they really aren't. The end effect is that using the terms in those ways devalues the terms and forces us to make-up new terms like "mega-keys" to discuss old concepts. The hobby was more intellectually honest in the old days. Ok to admire that.

The term "key" issue is so over-used it is almost meaningless. When used as a verb, the term "key" means "the crucial factor in achieving." Historically, the term key was used to point to a singular item, like the key stone of an arch without which the arch would collapse. The "key" to a run used to mean the hardest and most important issue to obtain. But, as is usual in the comic book business, where the scholarly usage often gives way to a usage designed to maximize sales hype, the term has been eroded to mean just "a desirable issue." Over and over again I'm a bit amazed and dismayed at how dealers and collectors succumb to hype. "Keys" and "prototypes" being the most obvious examples. Used correctly, the best analogy, I think, is to the term "crux." The "crux" of an argument is the most important point at issue. The crux of a rock climb is the most difficult portion of the climb.

Great rack! Is this a picture of yours?: If not, then I've seen four of these: The above, yours, mine, and Zaid has one (unless I bought his at auction). I've also seen this triangular version: I thought I'd seen a flat non-spinner CCA rack, but now think I'm mistaken in that memory.

Continuing with DC racks, it doesn't appear they came out with any new wire racks beyond the above during WWII. There are some surviving cardboard rack toppers from the early GA: The rest of the DC racks I've seen all date to the post-war period. Hakes sold this incredibly beautiful DC wood rack: And I've seen another version of this same rack, identical except it does not have the blue and yellow logo on the side, in the collection of a guy here in SF. But we know this rack dates to after the adoption of CCA in 1954, and uses the DC logo for the 1949-1971 time period. This one probably dates from 1954 to early 60s. A DC spinner rack dating to probably the early 1950s, didn't mention the CCA: Part of the reason we can date this fairly plain logo spinner rack to the 1950s is that in the 1960s DC racks got a little weird, using the go-go checker designs: Campy Batman graphics: And Superman graphics:

Love the "TEEN-AGEY" LOL! That's awesome and exactly what I was hoping to see. Thanks for posting.

Completely agree with Bluechip. Many folks think it would be super cool to own Action 1 or D27 who are not comic collectors. Why? Because they are pop culture icons. The bragging rights for owning such a significant book is obvious to all. What shocks me more than the notion that movies impact comic values is the notion that someone would $200K+ for a comic with no pop culture significance at all. Yet comic collectors have done it. Why? Because of the perceived coolness in the narrow segment of folks who run in that circle. It's buying a bragging right aimed at a very very narrow audience.

I think those pictures of newsstands show that publisher specific racks were very rare -- at least at newsstands. I have seen very few vintage pictures of publisher specific racks. I have seen a flyer depicting a King Comics countertop display rack:

I'm just curious what comic book racks were extant in the Golden Age. My own research reveals the existence of racks (wire spinner, wooden shelf, and flat wire) by DC, Dell, and Ziff-Davis [Correction: and King Comics and Classics Illustrated]. I've never seen a rack by any other publisher. I'd love to increase my knowledge of this subject. In the interest of sharing, here's some info on D.C. I believe the first D.C. comics rack came out in 1939 and featured seven slots for Action, Detective, Adventure, Superman, Flash, All-American, and More Fun: Another example: This was followed in short order by a seven slot rack for Action, Detective, Adventure, Superman, Flash, All-American, and All-Flash/World's Finest (sorry More Fun): The last of this sort of GA rack was a ten slot rack for Action, Detective, Superman, Batman, Flash, Adventure, All-American, More Fun, All-Star, and World's Finest/All-Flash. Some of these early DC racks also included an extra plate stating: After that, DC had so many titles that they switched to racks which did not identify specific comics for the slots. I'll post more later if anyone's interested or has their own info to share on GA racks.

Look forward to seeing your CCA spinner! I've seen an auction house claim that the one they were selling "might be the only one in existence," but I have seen pictures of at least one other in my style, and also pictures of two others in different styles (triangle and flat).

Glad I found this thread because I was surprised to see that the 1950s DC rack I bought on Craigslist was sold to me by Punkpez and a picture is linked six posts up. Here's a pic of the DC rack: I also had never seen another 1965-1966 DC "checker" rack like mine until I saw the post by Comicdey up thread (page 6). This is mine (paint is original): Someday I'll get a wooden Dell rack (they are findable, but I just haven't picked one up yet) as it is top of my list, but in the meantime I'm very very happy to have the very rare early 1960s wooden Gold Key rack: I have a perfect condition 1970s/1980s spinner rack of the Richie Rich/Spidey/Archie/Superman "Read One Today" variety, but while cool, those are common. My newest pride and joy is really rare, this 1955 Comics Code Authority rack: I also have a 1950s-1960s Signet paperback spinner rack that I truly love. But have no pics handy. WANTLIST: * Dell Wood Rack * Dell Postage Stamp Rack * Dell Spinner or Flat Rack (especially with circular top and images of characters) * GK Spinner Rack (especially with circular top and images of characters) * DC Wood Rack * Marvel Rack * Ziff-Davis Rack * Message me if you have other racks to unload. I am looking for my comic room.

Yep. Doesn't DA own an entire pedigree that has never been slabbed or its full contents publicly disclosed. I would not be surprised if that guy was sitting on some "reading copies" or had some dupes he's never disclosed. Some of those old time collectors are really secretive.