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Baker Romance
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13,586 posts in this topic

Some squarebound love.

 

bakersquarebounds-1.jpg

 

:headbang: Nice. Very nice! All-Picture All-True Love Story 1 :cloud9:

 

Rebounds are always interesting. You never know what you're going to get - could be a Canteen Kate story.

 

True Love Pictorial 4 is a great book. Four Baker stories for a big 41 pages of original art. And I think the cover is the bomb - the composition, framing, perspective, coloring - all of it is first rate. One of my top 20 favorite covers from St John romance. And the only cover with just two women talking to each other and they're friends.

 

The 25 cent Giants from True Love Pictorial (3-5) and Pictorial Romances (17-20) are awesome. Squarebounds - a challenge.

Edited by Dr. Love
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Some squarebound love.

 

bakersquarebounds-1.jpg

 

:headbang: Nice. Very nice! All-Picture All-True Love Story 1 :cloud9:

 

Rebounds are always interesting. You never know what you're going to get - could be a Canteen Kate story.

 

True Love Pictorial 4 is a great book. Four Baker stories for a big 41 pages of original art. And I think the cover is the bomb - the composition, framing, perspective, coloring - all of it is first rate. One of my top 20 favorite covers from St John romance. And the only cover with just two women talking to each other and they're friends.

 

The 25 cent Giants from True Love Pictorial (3-5) and Pictorial Romances (17-20) are awesome. Squarebounds - a challenge.

 

Thanks for the compliment. I love squarebounds, just their heft and volume, but they've got to be square, not flattened by time. That TPL #4 was an early ebay purchase from Alanna before either of us found the boards.

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Some squarebound love.

 

bakersquarebounds-1.jpg

 

:headbang: Nice. Very nice! All-Picture All-True Love Story 1 :cloud9:

 

Rebounds are always interesting. You never know what you're going to get - could be a Canteen Kate story.

 

True Love Pictorial 4 is a great book. Four Baker stories for a big 41 pages of original art. And I think the cover is the bomb - the composition, framing, perspective, coloring - all of it is first rate. One of my top 20 favorite covers from St John romance. And the only cover with just two women talking to each other and they're friends.

 

The 25 cent Giants from True Love Pictorial (3-5) and Pictorial Romances (17-20) are awesome. Squarebounds - a challenge.

 

Thanks for the compliment. I love squarebounds, just their heft and volume, but they've got to be square, not flattened by time. That TPL #4 was an early ebay purchase from Alanna before either of us found the boards.

 

I thought it looked familiar!

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Here's a contribution from my collection.

 

8787220590_a581d35779.jpg

 

mm

 

Nice copy of number 13, which also includes a Baker story. A lot of the APCs only had a Baker cover.

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Not the next one, comixnoir, the one after that - 8/15. Also, a 7.5 Reform School Girl is in that auction as well. Both graded within the last 2 weeks, same seller. Makes you wonder what else is sitting in that collection/inventory.

 

We should start an under/over for the GCE 12 based on the last gpa price for the 8.0 from 10/07 of $6848

 

 

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Not the next one, comixnoir, the one after that - 8/15. Also, a 7.5 Reform School Girl is in that auction as well. Both graded within the last 2 weeks, same seller. Makes you wonder what else is sitting in that collection/inventory.

 

We should start an under/over for the GCE 12 based on the last gpa price for the 8.0 from 10/07 of $6848

 

 

Which was the Lloyd Jacquet copy with Light tan to off-white. I was an under-bidder. I think it went to Geppi.

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Do you think Baker really meant her to be a prostitute? I know that's the conventional interpretation and it's what she looks like but it seems out of whack with other St Johns covers and with the content of their stories. Or am I missing something? hm

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Consider the context. It's 1949, and St. John is looking to muscle in to the newest hottest segment of the business: romance. They're not first to the party, that had already been staked out by Simon & Kirby in 1947. Followed by a direct competitor, Goodman's Timely/Marvel. Then Victor Fox in a totally different wild direction and Fawcett with even a different spin, photo covers of all-american everday couples.

 

In the second half of 1949 the romance output of the industry exploded, it broke records. So St John had to find a way to break in. I don't think it is surprising to see Baker get the go-ahead for an off-color risque take on the beautiful women he was already accomplished at drawing. It wasn't his first romance cover, maybe his 4th or 5th? They were busy finding out what would work for them.

 

btw I think the prostitute angle is established more from the setting than her look, though that's obviously provocative. The streetlamp in that time said sex for hire.

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Consider the context. It's 1949, and St. John is looking to muscle in to the newest hottest segment of the business: romance. They're not first to the party, that had already been staked out by Simon & Kirby in 1947. Followed by a direct competitor, Goodman's Timely/Marvel. Then Victor Fox in a totally different wild direction and Fawcett with even a different spin, photo covers of all-american everday couples.

 

In the second half of 1949 the romance output of the industry exploded, it broke records. So St John had to find a way to break in. I don't think it is surprising to see Baker get the go-ahead for an off-color risque take on the beautiful women he was already accomplished at drawing. It wasn't his first romance cover, maybe his 4th or 5th? They were busy finding out what would work for them.

 

btw I think the prostitute angle is established more from the setting than her look, though that's obviously provocative. The streetlamp in that time said sex for hire.

 

Those points are well taken, but I can't think of a similar cover from St Johns. Aren't the contents remaindered books? Which makes me think the circulation would have been fairly low. So it seems like an odd book to make a splash with.

 

Certainly, placing her under a streetlamp does seem to be a cue that she's meant to be a prostitute. I still think it's odd, though.

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Not the next one, comixnoir, the one after that - 8/15. Also, a 7.5 Reform School Girl is in that auction as well. Both graded within the last 2 weeks, same seller. Makes you wonder what else is sitting in that collection/inventory.

 

We should start an under/over for the GCE 12 based on the last gpa price for the 8.0 from 10/07 of $6848

 

 

I'm starting to think the 4.0 that SC sold last March may turn out to have been a bargain at $2,577. I'll venture a guess that this one goes above $8K but less than $10K. A lot depends on whether it generates enough crossover interest from non-romance/non-Baker collectors.

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Not the next one, comixnoir, the one after that - 8/15. Also, a 7.5 Reform School Girl is in that auction as well. Both graded within the last 2 weeks, same seller. Makes you wonder what else is sitting in that collection/inventory.

 

We should start an under/over for the GCE 12 based on the last gpa price for the 8.0 from 10/07 of $6848

 

 

I'm starting to think the 4.0 that SC sold last March may turn out to have been a bargain at $2,577. I'll venture a guess that this one goes above $8K but less than $10K. A lot depends on whether it generates enough crossover interest from non-romance/non-Baker collectors.

 

It's the most important romance book in the hobby.

 

Never shows up in unrestored nice.

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