So tell us more about the Toronto collection.
Well it should be called the Belleville collection after the small town east of Toronto where the collection originated. A man purchased them in the 50's, mostly Atlas, and kept them in very nice condition. Present were every issue of the hero revival, Young Men, Human Torch, etc. the only collection to boast this.
Upon his death the wife and daughter promptly brought them down to the bottom of the driveway to be picked up with the other trash, as women have done through the ages. The son-in-law saw this and put the treasues in his trunk, telling them he was off to do something. He drove to Toronto and landed at Paradise Comics, owned by Pete Dixon. Pete wanted to buy the collection, but couldn't come up with the money, so he suggested slabbing and auctioning them off on Heritage. Pete brokered the deal and received a handsome fee.
They tried for a pedigree, but CGC refused citing not enough keys and the grades weren't high enough. Most were mid-grade, but a number were high, highest in the census- sometimes only in census- since a lot of Atlas' are uncommon, even rare.
I saw and held a number of these books and can attest to their beauty. Fresh, glossy and with great pages. CGC missed the boat on this one. If the horde came to market now, they might think differently.
I wanted to purchase some before they went away, but was denied. Bid with everybody else. When I commented that the women folk must be happy with the outcome, I was told it was doubtful they even knew.
...it's been a while, but I believe I recall that HA added in their catalog that the OO was an immigrant who utilized comics to learn the language and that he was a printer by trade. This is my only Toronto, it was top census but is no longer slabbed. It was a CGC 8.0... 8 years later, it is still top census.GOD BLESS...
-jimbo(a friend of jesus)
A perfect example of why this collection should be tracked. Probably best copy in existence. Did yours come with a certificate? Mine didn't.