Darwination

Nice, OE, took a peek, this one has a 1906 inscription, don't know how you'd tell earliest edition:
https://archive.org/details/lifeadventuresof0baum/mode/2up
Couldn't find much on the illustrator, but I like her, Mary Cowles Clark, selected by Baum.

 
I'd never heard of this before.

I almost flipped past this one because of the grubby shape, but it would still be a crime not show my beautiful, grubby pulps

Nice, OE, took a peek, this one has a 1906 inscription, don't know how you'd tell earliest edition:
https://archive.org/details/lifeadventuresof0baum/mode/2up
Couldn't find much on the illustrator, but I like her, Mary Cowles Clark, selected by Baum.

 
I'd never heard of this before.

I enjoyed it.  My take is that they are going to go easy on a lot of things like glue at the spine (which is acknowledged is supercommon), overhang issues, missing pages, some spine chips, some amounts of trimming.  They've got at least a little similar experience with squarebound comics.  Spine fading a very minor consideration. Tons of grades between 1 and 6, and they don't expect too many super high grade pulps.  Two new box sizes between comics and magazines but more "cradle" sorts of sizes.   Lots of questions answered, but I'm still curious if the pulps will shift.  No mention of paper quality, especially brittleness (that I noticed). 
The numbering? Hate it. Bedsheets fit in the mag boxes? Surprising.
I'm not into these plastic boxes, but I am into more people discovering the wide world of pulp, so we'll see where it all goes.
I like the choice of that All-Story as the first book.  I also enjoyed the mention of pulp scans at the Internet Archive

Heh heh, do we blame the sharks or the fisherman with the chum bucket

I recently found a few Baker western books buried in some GA western boxes. I was shocked when I saw the prices I had on them. I quickly released them from their yellowed bags, put them in shiny mylars and of course “adjusted” their prices…
Obviously, nobody wanted them at their previous prices. 

Just arrived!

I love this one with the little monkey and the leapordskin, adorable.
Sidenote: I notice moire only sometimes with just dragging and dropping here, might have to do with various page widths as they are sized for the site.  If I drop a Discord link (which is actually a much higher resolution most of the time) the moire goes away.  Or just resizing the image in the first place can fix it, too.   I've never understood the wonders of moire, only the horrors

I love this one with the little monkey and the leapordskin, adorable.
Sidenote: I notice moire only sometimes with just dragging and dropping here, might have to do with various page widths as they are sized for the site.  If I drop a Discord link (which is actually a much higher resolution most of the time) the moire goes away.  Or just resizing the image in the first place can fix it, too.   I've never understood the wonders of moire, only the horrors

In some respect, I can understand the different standards for different purposes.  If it's in the box, the cover is the most important thing.  If you're handling it and want to read it, the overall condition is more important.  One of the funky things that stick out for me with CGC is that you can have an issue, albeit in nice physical condition, that's faded af and gets a good grade.  I'd take a lower grade with good color almost every time if we are talking about display.
Brittleness is the worst problem a comic can have.  I've seen comic issues (as well as pulps and especially newsprint items) that look pretty damn nice but with total brittleness.  Thumb a few pages and the spine just might split down the entire issue. Gimme fat, supple, and grubby pages over clean, thin, and brittle pages any day.
As for Mask Comics, any copy is a good copy                   Good lord - "Classic cover. Bullet in head panel."

And this children is how grandma became Mrs Claus.

This one?  Might be a different issue considering the dates of the others

The First Romance is December 53

The Beware is January 54

This Magazine is Haunted February 54

Not my copy!  But an image I worked with this morning from Mycomicshop, Bud Plant's copy, still there. Norman Saunders on the second issue (the first of two #11s, as can happen in the golden age).
Me too, or ooh la la? How fun is this?  Great colors.

Readers of GA romance recognize the workplace romance as a common plot if not a great way for a young woman to meet a husband.  Don't tell HR
Having worked the cover, I gave it a read. From the JVJ project at the comic museums, with excellent edits from Tilliban. 
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php?dlid=24121
A nice one pager black and white job on the ifc.  And a giant sized indicia, damn Ziff-Davis

The artist is Paul Parker, who I last encountered in a re-read of his Mr Zin Hatchet Killer stories in The Killers.  He's got the lead story, too, which I don't like as much as the style on The Pianist and The Earl there.
The second story's from Ogden Whitney.  I always like an opening scene in a diner.

My favorite story in here, if not exactly graceful, are the pages from the Lin Streeter story

Storywise, there's lots of melodrama throught the issue, but is does get a little catty in the last tale (Reed Crandall).  Redheads are always trouble.

The Saunders might just be my favorite Ziff-Davis romance cover, but there's one or two others vying for my heart.

In some respect, I can understand the different standards for different purposes.  If it's in the box, the cover is the most important thing.  If you're handling it and want to read it, the overall condition is more important.  One of the funky things that stick out for me with CGC is that you can have an issue, albeit in nice physical condition, that's faded af and gets a good grade.  I'd take a lower grade with good color almost every time if we are talking about display.
Brittleness is the worst problem a comic can have.  I've seen comic issues (as well as pulps and especially newsprint items) that look pretty damn nice but with total brittleness.  Thumb a few pages and the spine just might split down the entire issue. Gimme fat, supple, and grubby pages over clean, thin, and brittle pages any day.
As for Mask Comics, any copy is a good copy                   Good lord - "Classic cover. Bullet in head panel."