Albert Tatlock

And the FF # 2 is from January 1962.

Here is another 10d going topless

Not at all, mate. You set out to show that the numbers on the stamps tracked along with the date the comics went on sale, and they fell neatly into line, with a little wobble between 17 and 20, which was not altogether unexpected. When we get enough data points, we can do a bit of statistical analysis and see by just what percentage the observations deviate from the predictions, and whether it changes over time. I reckon the earliest dates will be the most prone to irregularity.

No stamp to be seen on Superman 132 or Superboy 76. Oh well, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, still possible other stamped examples may surface. Putting my socks back on.

Starting on me toenails!

The suspense is killing me, my nails are bitten right down........................

Hail Hydra! Or should that be Hail T & P? Their tentacles extended far and wide, according to the first scan attached, which shows that they had another address in London from which they published the UK version of MAD magazine. There is also, besides the Oadby address, another in Thurmaston, a suburb of Leicester. Today Oadby, tomorrow the world! Second scan is of a regular ad in the early MAD offering back issues, which enabled me to complete my collection apart from numbers 2 and 5, which I had to source from other quarters. Third scan is from MAD # 46, where they, amazingly, offer to buy back the back issues they have spent the previous couple of years begging readers to take off their hands. Anyone know why? Coming soon, another rant about the triangular sale price stamps, which I hope to persuade even the sceptics were a T & P only feature.

It does identify Superman 132 as the one least likely to make first shipment, though.

I've asked Superman to check on this for us, he's on his laptop right now.................

I got Superboy 76 and 77 at the same time, in about 1962/3 from the son of the local barber. Probably he had bought them from a local newsagent, we will just have to wait and see if a stamped 76 eventually surfaces. I know that there were others picked up by other collectors not long afterwards. My present one is US sourced, I upgraded many years ago.

I think Batman 127 was circulating from the off. Maybe not Pat Boone. I never saw it until about 1966 when I picked up a triangular 6d stamped copy locally. Possibly Pat Boone, not being a top selling title was only sent, and in small quantities, in 1960 or later.

I got my Superman 132 in 1967 from an American visitor whose father worked in Manchester for a couple of years. He had picked it up second hand in Brooklyn so it would not have been stamped. Given the easy availability of Superman 133, I do not believe that 132 was shipped with the first batch. Of course, that would not prevent late returns being sent later, though, but if there are no stamped copies at all, that is highly suggestive.

Theoretically is the operative word here. It is looking more and more likely that your idea of 8 being the first is correct. I, and several other local collectors, spent several years in the 1960s trying to find those early issues, but the only ones I came across were Adventure 265, Batman 127 and Superboy 76, unless I came across any war or western ones, which I would have traded on. No Octobers from widely distributed titles like Action, Superman, Detective, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, and also the probably less frequently encountered Blackhawk, Strange Adventures, Unexpected and both House Of, so I think they must not have been included in the first shipment. Is it possible to check USA newsstand distribution dates for the October issues? Possibly only those latest in the supply chain were shipped to the UK. Flash 108 was dated September, so would not have made it in any case.

More than likely. October 1959 would, in theory, have had a 7 stamp, but as none have been found, it is perfectly possible that those arrived with the Novembers and were stamped with an 8. Back in the day, long before people were buying from US sources, I obtained 2nd hand copies of Adventure 265 and Superboy 76, which were probably stamped, but if so, I could not tell which number. Other collectors of the time also managed to find Superboy 76. One November issue I was never able to come across, though, was Challengers 10. Have any stamped copies surfaced?

Marwood, I thank you for your kind comments on my contribution to the numbered T & P stamps, but the credit, I feel, is not entirely mine. I have glanced back at the postings in this thread before I became involved, and I now see that 01TheDude put forward basically the same suggestion as far back as page 6 of this thread, but as he had no data to hand at the time to back it up the idea was not developed. I think 01TheDude should get at least a share, if indeed not the lion's share, of the credit, don't you? Also, I cannot help but think that I was by not the only collector at the time to notice that the stamp number, with occasional hiccups, was creeping inexorably upwards.

On the later series of Flash reprints, Number 1 has an ad for a Superman hardbacked annual on the inside back cover, but Number 2 has the ad below, which I hope is legible. Ticket To Ride is from 1965, so that is the earliest possible date, without checking the other tracks, some of which I know are from 1964 and 1965. Also, Number 4 reprints the same ad.

Will get pic tomorrow.

Thanks, Redshade. I gathered there must have been at least 2 series, as some of the material is duplicated. The later series have an ad inside the back cover for Beatles and Kinks records, so I reckon 1964 or 1965. I was wondering how long T & P carried on with the b& w reprint stuff, in competition with their own imports. Maybe an attempt to take market share from Alan Class? Were all these pre-decimal, I cannot recollect any post-decimal.

A few more 2nd run 1960s stampings to keep the pot boiling: Unexpected 48 (as expected) = 4, Brave & Bold 29 (not as expected) = 2, Action 267 = 8, MGA (another copy) = 9, Brave & Bold 31 = 9

Just another quick Flash if no-one minds....... Below are the B & W reprint series from T & P that overlapped the first importation of the real thing. Anyone know when the last published ones of these appeared?

Yes, I probably will always be a dedicated Flasher.

A while back, I posted this Flash 109 in a batch of others, and identified it as a 7, maybe because I expected to see a 7. It is a bit indistinct, though, and now I am pretty sure it is a 9. Still no 7s, so 6s starting to look a bit wobbly for 1959.

And 2 Our Army At War from March 1960, stamped 3. Alles in ordnung, Allied schweinhund. And 3 more Flash 115. whatever the German for ditto is.

The first use of the 7 stamp is theoretically on the October 1959 cover dates, but if none can be found, then the sequence would start with 8, and the number 6 examples would have to be very late arrivals. Best place to look for October 1959 with a 7 stamp would be in the monthly titles. In the meantime, here is another Flash 109, stamped 9. As a bimonthly (Oct - Nov) it would be expected to be a 7, or possibly an 8. Another late arrival, if only by a month?

At least he was spared the ordeal of his mother chucking them out, telling him it's time to grow up. All mine were stamped copies back in the day, too. If only I had known then what I know now.................................