jlee Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I've always wondered about those Honeymoon Romance digests... is it a certainty that they contain Baker art? Anyone know for sure? I looked at the two issues and a lot of Baker-ish art but unclear if anything is truly Baker. Very similar to the work in Strange Mysteries and more reminiscent of his early stuff in Fiction House. Below are two panels that looked like Baker from Honeymoon Romance Illustrated 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1952 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 how rare is the digest: the case of the Winking Buddha??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlee Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 how rare is the digest: the case of the Winking Buddha??? Personally, I have seen a decent number of copies over the year. For digests, I would put its scarcity as average. But others may have a different take based on their experience and luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICK STARR Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 My personal top 10 Baker "romance" titles, not according to any $ value or scarcity. Man, it is tough to pick just 10. I must have changed the order several times and also have some ties. 1- True love Pict. 11 2- Cind. Love 25 3- Diary Sec. 29 4- Teen Rom 32 5- Cind love 26 / Pict. Rom. 7 6- GCE 12 / Cind.Love 15 7- Pict. Rom 5 8- WTR 3 / Teen Rom. 18 9- Teen Tempts 2 / Teen Rom. 42 10- Teen Rom. 43/ Teen Rom. 17 This sultry cover is overlooked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 That is such a lovely cover. Nice copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICK STARR Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Some nice books there, John. Those over-sized issues of Teen-Age Romances are SO hard to find in decent condition. What usually happened, because they were so much taller than other books of the time, and often sat upright in boxes with other, shorter, comics, was that the top half inch or so would usually sustain damage because it was so exposed. My best over-sized St. John is a copy of TR 14. It still has some moisture related warping to that top half inch, but it's my best example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernerd Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Some nice books there, John. Those over-sized issues of Teen-Age Romances are SO hard to find in decent condition. What usually happened, because they were so much taller than other books of the time, and often sat upright in boxes with other, shorter, comics, was that the top half inch or so would usually sustain damage because it was so exposed. My best over-sized St. John is a copy of TR 14. It still has some moisture related warping to that top half inch, but it's my best example. Absolutely breathtaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 My personal top 10 Baker "romance" titles, not according to any $ value or scarcity. Man, it is tough to pick just 10. I must have changed the order several times and also have some ties. 1- True love Pict. 11 2- Cind. Love 25 3- Diary Sec. 29 4- Teen Rom 32 5- Cind love 26 / Pict. Rom. 7 6- GCE 12 / Cind.Love 15 7- Pict. Rom 5 8- WTR 3 / Teen Rom. 18 9- Teen Tempts 2 / Teen Rom. 42 10- Teen Rom. 43/ Teen Rom. 17 This sultry cover is overlooked Definitely one of my favorites! Nice copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I've always wondered about those Honeymoon Romance digests... is it a certainty that they contain Baker art? Anyone know for sure? I looked at the two issues and a lot of Baker-ish art but unclear if anything is truly Baker. Very similar to the work in Strange Mysteries and more reminiscent of his early stuff in Fiction House. Below are two panels that looked like Baker from Honeymoon Romance Illustrated 2. Tough to say, but I would lean against this being Baker's work. Still great stuff, though. Those digests aren't included in the Baker checklist in The Art of Glamour book. I think that list mainly represents JV, Jr.'s views and tends toward the conservative side. For instance, it flags the cover to Jo-Jo 25 as probably not by Baker -- although CGC (and most sellers!) disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 An updated picture, but I am still missing some books I need to dig up. You've got a terrific collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Positive identification is often difficult, especially of work done in the forties and early fifties, because many artists were generally encouraged to capture that style that was popularized by the Iger Shop and showed up so often in Fox and Fiction House books. It just so happened that Baker captured that style better than anyone else. But that's why work by other artists in that same style is so often attributed to Baker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 how rare is the digest: the case of the Winking Buddha??? Personally, I have seen a decent number of copies over the year. For digests, I would put its scarcity as average. But others may have a different take based on their experience and luck. There's a copy in the current Heritage Sunday night auction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This sultry cover is overlooked Beautiful copy of Cinderella Love 26, John. With census high of 6.5 and a recent auction price of $1500 for that grade I would say this issue is appreciated for just how hard it is to get in grade. And speaking of pricing - the speed with which Duke's VG copy of Wartime Romances 9 got snatched up by Topnotch (DTA) for $225 is again a sure sign of rapid escalation in the Baker romance market. The Alexanders have a commanding presence in romance, the largest inventory of all with Metro coming in second, and surely know the market. I'd say double that $225 at a minimum for national dealer retail. I think it's time for a recap of those issues that aren't in the census yet. We saw what happened with the Going Steady 14 going for $2271 for a 6.0. Part of that is the cover of course, the "mature" content a marked departure for Baker, but the other part is census scarcity. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 This sultry cover is overlooked Beautiful copy, John. With census high of 6.5 and a recent auction price of $1500 for that grade I would say this issue is appreciated for just how hard it is to get in grade. And speaking of pricing - the speed with which Duke's VG copy of Wartime Romances 9 got snatched up by Topnotch (DTA) for $225 is again a sure sign of rapid escalation in the Baker romance market. The Alexanders have a commanding presence in romance, the largest inventory of all with Metro coming in second, and surely know the market. I'd say double that $225 at a minimum for national dealer retail. I think it's time for a recap of those issues that aren't in the census yet. We saw what happened with the Going Steady 14 going for $2271 for a 6.0. Part of that is the cover of course, the "mature" content a marked departure for Baker, but the other part is census scarcity. DTA sure has a lot of romance books listed on eBay, but does he sell many? Seems to relist many of them over and over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Enough to cover the cost of carrying, obviously. And we had another example of a guy who priced his books aggressively, and the market came to him. Against all of our dire predictions. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlee Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I've always wondered about those Honeymoon Romance digests... is it a certainty that they contain Baker art? Anyone know for sure? I looked at the two issues and a lot of Baker-ish art but unclear if anything is truly Baker. Very similar to the work in Strange Mysteries and more reminiscent of his early stuff in Fiction House. Below are two panels that looked like Baker from Honeymoon Romance Illustrated 2. Tough to say, but I would lean against this being Baker's work. Still great stuff, though. Those digests aren't included in the Baker checklist in The Art of Glamour book. I think that list mainly represents JV, Jr.'s views and tends toward the conservative side. For instance, it flags the cover to Jo-Jo 25 as probably not by Baker -- although CGC (and most sellers!) disagree. For what it's worth, I do not think these pictures are Baker, but Baker inspired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Enough to cover the cost of carrying, obviously. And we had another example of a guy who priced his books aggressively, and the market came to him. Against all of our dire predictions. Rogofsky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Enough to cover the cost of carrying, obviously. And we had another example of a guy who priced his books aggressively, and the market came to him. Against all of our dire predictions. Rogofsky? The seller of the Sixth Street books? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Enough to cover the cost of carrying, obviously. And we had another example of a guy who priced his books aggressively, and the market came to him. Against all of our dire predictions. Rogofsky? The seller of the Sixth Street books? Nah, he's got to be referring to Bedrock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
