TheComicsPreacher

On 4/11/2024 at 6:30 PM, sfcityduck said:

THE BACKGROUND

Milt Caniff was the most famous cartoonist involved with the war effort at the start of WWII.

 

The most famous of all WWII artists coming out of the war was this young man, only 22 at the time of this picture:

 

 

Bill Mauldin (born October 29, 1921) enlisted in the Army as an 18 year old teenager in 1940 because he was an interventionist, not an "America first" isolationist, and he knew that under FDR the US would be entering the war against the Germans. He wanted to be part of that. 

But from 1940 to 1943 he was stuck in the U.S. undergoing training and waiting for mobilization as part of the 45th Division. Fortunately for Bill, in October 1940, the 45th started a division newspaper. Bill had studied art for a while at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and done some cartoons for the Arizona Highways magazine before enlisting. So when Bill applied for a job as an artist with the 45th Division News shortly before his 19th birthday he was accepted. 

Bill then spent the next two and a half years honing his cartooning on stateside army subjects. He became so skilled that civilian newspapers bought his cartoons and a pamphlet book was published compiling some of his stateside work from his Star Spangled Banter cartoon feature. Bill didn't receive the profits from that book, but it taught him a valuable lesson that such pamphlet books could make money.

Everything changed for Bill when the 45th was mobilized to go to Europe in June 1943 and stormed the beaches of Sicily as part of the campaign to topple Italy. Sicily turned Bill into the cartoonist he is now famous for being. He documented the war with clear eyes and stark perspective, he changed his art style, and he showed wisdom well beyond his years. He also honed his cutting humor. Most importantly, he sided with the infantry soldier because he was one. The Sicilian campaign was hard, and Bill's cartoons reflected that reality. 

Once the island was subdued, Bill used some of his down time to self-publish a book - Sketches of Sicily (1943). Think about that: In the midst of WWII, during an invasion of one of the three Axis powers, Bill Mauldin somehow found the ability to self-publish a book of his cartoons about the Sicily invasion and a few of his columns. That's beyond remarkable. His first printing was 5,000 copies. It was so popular with his division it quickly sold out. The next printing was 12,000 copies those also sold out to his division mates. His division was about 20,000 men. Mauldin was able to make over a $1,000 to send home to his wife and the child born while he was at war. 

17,000 books in print seems like a lot, but the leading authority on Mauldin's WWII career, Rob Stolzer (a collector and writer on comic subjects), has this insight: 

To put it in perspective, Mauldin's next pamphlet published in Europe had a print run of 300,000. Why so high? Because Mauldin's Sicily Sketch Book caught the eye of Star & Stripes - the soldier's newspaper - and Mauldin was able to transfer to working for S&S based on the quality of his work in Italy for the 45th Division. For S&S, he started a new cartoon called "Up Front." By doing so, he increased his audience tremendously and gained the notice of top brass. 

The top brass included General George Patton who threatened to "throw Mauldin's butt in jail" for running what he saw as inappropriate cartoons which showed infantry men unshaven, tired and dishelved. Mauldin, who was given his own Jeep by S&S and a pass which allowed him to travel anywhere he wished, had to drive 200 miles to meet with Patton in person. Patton shouted at him. Mauldin told Patton his thoughts, and then he left the meeting. On the way out, he told a Life magazine reporter that he and Patton had not changed each other's minds. When Patton read the quote in the magazine, he decided to ban S&S within all areas of his command. That decision was only thwarted with Gen. Eisenhower, Patton's superior, sided with Mauldin. Mauldin had faced down Patton. And Mauldin became a legend amongst the dog faces (infantrymen) of WWII.

Mauldin was a legend to the infantry for his accurate portrayal of their lives and concerns. He was a legend for putting himself in danger, even earning a Purple Heart, to accurately document the war. He was a legend for standing up to the brass. And a legend for, at the age of 23, being awarded a Pulitzer Prize. 

In 1945, the Army even awarded him the Legion of Merit for his outstanding services during the war and stated that "Mauldin's work has made him indisputably the best known and most popular soldier in the European theater." After the war's end, the character of Willie was featured on the cover of Time magazine for the June 18, 1945, issue.

Bill Mauldin's legend did not fade. Fellow cartoonists made sure of that. For example, Charles Schultz had Snoopy visit Mauldin for drinks for 17 straight years of Veteran's Day strips:

THE OFFERING

So what is the next listing here? You guessed it - a copy of Mauldin's Sicily Sketch Book. 

Even if you heard of the pamphlet, what you may not know, but which Rob Stolzer, who owns five of these things, does know about these books is:

The copy for sale is such a volume. It is also signed and dedicated by Bill Mauldin to the soldier who put his name on the cover - Warren K. (or R.) Cook:

See that signature in the top left?  When you hold this book, you cannot but be awed by signatures in the book. The front line infantrymen, facing death, who signed this book seeking a form of immortality. Each signature, and there are over 50 in this book, stands as a testament to the truth they saw in Mauldin's cartoons, how important his cartoons were to them, and the recognition they had of the precarious position they were in. In a very real way, it is a sacred piece:

 

 

There are more signatures, one of my favorites is signed by a Sgt. William J. Mace to Cookie wishing "Luck and happiness and may you & I have plenty of this (pointing to a jug of booze):

As I said, I just bought this and just decided to sell it. So I haven't looked up any of the soldiers who signed this book. Rob Stolzer has done that with the four books of signatures he owns like this. And he's found a soldier who ended up posthumously receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for his self-sacrifice in saving others, as well as numerous soldiers who died in the heated fighting. I haven't looked up the soldiers in this book because I don't want to become attached. Which is hard to avoid, even when you just see a soldier from the city in which you live (here there's a soldier from SF). 

The book is about more than just the signatures. The art meant a lot to them and it meant a lot to Mauldin. One of his most meaningful illustrations to these soldiers has no signatures on its page or the facing page at all:

It also has no humorous caption. It just says: "Bloody Ridge." There's a reason for that. It's set forth in stark terms in one of Rob Stolzer's copies of this book, a copy what was used as a diary by the soldier who owned it. The diary entry for that page states: “There is nothing funny about this page as it was our hardest battle on the island.” 

The book also includes two columns by Mauldin (the man could write as anyone who's read "Up Front" knows). 

I don't know how to put it, its a treasure.

CONDITION

There is soiling, wrinkes, and oxidation on the staples. But its in generally impressive shape. Paper quality is surprisingly good. Sure drycleaning and pressing would make it more presentable -- but I'm not sure I'd want to remove the dust of Sicily. I would consider a staple replacement to protect the pages which thankfully aren't showing much in the way of rust transfer as far as I eye can see. But, this kind of object is not about hitting a 9.8. Its about having the look and feel of an authentic piece of history.

PRICE

These things are rare. I keep my eyes open and when I saw this one I snatched it up. It was my second. But, as cool as it is, I'm happy with the other copy. So before I get attached, and head down the road Rob Stolzer took of keeping every one he's found in his many years of searching, I'm freeing this copy up quickly. I got it for far less than it was worth, so that helps the decision. And unlike Rob, who worked in the same newspaper operation with Bill and knew him personally, I don't have that level of personal connection. Rob owns five (see here: https://billmauldinart.com/sicily-sketch-book-1/) and he probably is much more aggressive and astute at finding these things than me. 

How do you put a price on this? There are no real comparables. Heritage once sold a copy with rusted staples, crumpled cover and pages, and no soldier signatures back in 2014 for $225 dollars:

This ain't that book. Here, it is signed by the author with a dedication to the OO. We have 50+ soldier signatures. It's in much better shape. And its 10 years later. The amount I paid for this was multiples of the Heritage result and I was shocked I could grab it so cheap. It's an incredible object. As far as I know there are no others on the market today. My Price: $1,300 or best offer. And that's just because I want to see this thing find a good home and this is one place where I believe it can find one. 

 

 

Take per PM.