comicnoir Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, BakerFanOne said: Sometimes being that lead dog can feel a bit crazy and wild, but looking back you realized it was a tremendously smart and prophetic decision. Hindsight is always 20/20. Clearly Sqeggs and many others like RickStarr, DukeDog, ComicNoir, Dr. Love were way ahead of the rest of fandom on Baker. And the rest of folks who are quickly building awesome Baker collections like SACentaur and Rick are also going to look back and be glad they jumped in when they did because prices are not going down in my humble opinion. I think the reason is quite simple and that's because Baker is one of the true greats. Like an Andy Warhol or Basquiat, once the genius is recognized, the demand is insatiable and with a limited supply, there will only be more contention for the top remaining copies. I doubt any of the Baker collectors will sell unless they upgrade, have financial emergencies, or make a big move on a mega-key. So yes the price on the Going Steady 14 was aggressive at the time, but what are the odds that you will ever see a better copy for sale. Steve Ballmer made the same decision in buying the LA Clippers realizing that an opportunity to buy a major NBA franchise while he is still young enough to enjoy it comes along every 15-20 years so why not pay 50% more than market value if you have the $$$. I'll to add to this in saying I don't think there is going to be a market downturn on these books due to reasons already stated, there is a cult of celebrity surrounding Baker romance and his other work. A mystery man with an ethnic background and a huge talent who died young. Not unlike other artists whose fame grew posthumously. He was unknown and then became known. Also his work is elusive and requires dedication to find. Unlike other genres in comic collecting these books have a personal ring to them and a comprehensive oeurvre. Edited April 19, 2017 by comicnoir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Only copy of this one on the census (has two Baker stories), but again that may reflect people with nice copies not bothering to have them graded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Not romance (although I've always found the Old West romantic ), but a Church copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakerFanOne Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 29 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: Only copy of this one on the census (has two Baker stories), but again that may reflect people with nice copies not bothering to have them graded. Not sure how many nice copies are out there, but probably not a lot of folks rushing to certify the photo cover Bakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakerFanOne Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 25 minutes ago, Sqeggs said: Not romance (although I've always found the Old West romantic ), but a Church copy. Baker was so versatile although it would have been nice to add a female or two to this cover. Gorgeous copy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakerFanOne Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 5 hours ago, comicnoir said: I'll to add to this in saying I don't think there is going to be a market downturn on these books due to reasons already stated, there is a cult of celebrity surrounding Baker romance and his other work. A mystery man with an ethnic background and a huge talent who died young. Not unlike other artists whose fame grew posthumously. He was unknown and then became known. Also his work is elusive and requires dedication to find. Unlike other genres in comic collecting these books have a personal ring to them and a comprehensive oeurvre. Well said. He never did any big mainline hero books with a few exceptions like Phantom Lady and Bomber which you could argue were not mainline. But other than Atlas books, I don't believe he did any DC, Marvel/Timely, or Fawcett comic books either. So he didn't have the power of EC like Frazetta and Wood, or the Timely Cap and Marvel Mystery covers like Schomburg to help Baker grow in prominence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 11 hours ago, Dr. Love said: At the time, Lee said: "Curious if others were as surprised at the final price for the Going Steady 14 in the Heritage Auction. It was a CGC Blue 6.0 and sold for $2270.50 including BP. I know this is a tougher Baker romance book, but I figured this issue would top out at maybe $800-900 as this is not as highly sought after as some of the Cinderella Loves and late issues of Teen-Age Romances. Given some of the crazy prices realized in this auction, is this an outlier or a sign of things to come?" And with great foresight I said: "Surprised, but not shocked! shocked I say! A great book, unique actually in terms of theme for Baker, and very very very tough to come by in anything approaching grade. I've always considered it a minor grail, along with TAR 45. And after all these years, none on the census till this showed up, and that club is getting smaller and smaller. If I'm not mistaken both Rick Starr and Sqeggs have lesser copies, shall we say, and I wouldn't put it past either of them to go for this one. Nor would I say it's a bad move. If you were committed to a world class Baker collection, this book would be a must have. A bit out of my budget, but expenditures are very relative. These days 2K ain't no big thang." Maybe 2K for a funny book is no big deal to many here. But to me that is decent dough. And it's just a personal thing but that book would be low on my list for a 2K funny book. Heck, I would probably kick in another 500 and buy a real nice vintage electric guitar that I could play and admire every day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 20 hours ago, BakerFanOne said: Not sure how many nice copies are out there, but probably not a lot of folks rushing to certify the photo cover Bakers. I buy them when they look nice and are affordable (under $60). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Here's another "Ruth" copy. She had some of the toughest Bakers (and REALLY loved them - so much that they're all low grade!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricksneatstuff Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Well, I looked for 2 years to find two Teen-Age Romances that I really like the best (besides 32). One was the 45, which I finally got several months ago, although it is a major beater. The other was 11, which I paid a small fortune for an incomplete copy with a missing page and a coverless copy. I paid to have them married (same staples) and the ceremony went pretty well. The priest that officiated said he felt they belonged together so I am happy. I went through temporary insanity and put it up on a sales thread and then pulled it when I realized that if I sell it there is a good chance I will never see a complete copy again. I think this book is unusually tough. Anyway, it is in the keeper boxes now where it should have been all along. I have to say that I see less copies of some of these Bakers than I do of early Fox, MLJ and Nedor books. Sorry if that is sacrilege to some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakerFanOne Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said: Well, I looked for 2 years to find two Teen-Age Romances that I really like the best (besides 32). One was the 45, which I finally got several months ago, although it is a major beater. The other was 11, which I paid a small fortune for an incomplete copy with a missing page and a coverless copy. I paid to have them married (same staples) and the ceremony went pretty well. The priest that officiated said he felt they belonged together so I am happy. I went through temporary insanity and put it up on a sales thread and then pulled it when I realized that if I sell it there is a good chance I will never see a complete copy again. I think this book is unusually tough. Anyway, it is in the keeper boxes now where it should have been all along. I have to say that I see less copies of some of these Bakers than I do of early Fox, MLJ and Nedor books. Sorry if that is sacrilege to some. That is a super nice looking copy even if it is married. Wise move to keep it. 5 hours ago, Yorick said: Here's another "Ruth" copy. She had some of the toughest Bakers (and REALLY loved them - so much that they're all low grade!). Stylistically this a pretty unique cover for Baker. The woman's hairstyle is very uncommon for Baker and the man's hair is definitely interesting. And of course a very tough book in any grade! Edited April 21, 2017 by BakerFanOne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Here's my copy. Yes, it is the Crippen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricksneatstuff Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 10 minutes ago, comicnoir said: Here's my copy. Yes, it is the Crippen. Fantastic! Are these books really as rare as they seem or are have just too few been graded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 30 minutes ago, Ricksneatstuff said: Fantastic! Are these books really as rare as they seem or are have just too few been graded? This issue is tough. I haven't seen a better copy, or ANY other copy really. I've had this for 10 years and glad I got it when I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICK STARR Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I bought this copy in April 2008 for $92.00, probably off Ebay. Incredibly tough issue in any grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakerFanOne Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 28 minutes ago, RICK STARR said: I bought this copy in April 2008 for $92.00, probably off Ebay. Incredibly tough issue in any grade. Talk about money well spent. This is the nicest copy I have seen so far. Maybe someone has a better one they want to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 On April 19, 2017 at 10:53 PM, Robot Man said: Maybe 2K for a funny book is no big deal to many here. But to me that is decent dough. And it's just a personal thing but that book would be low on my list for a 2K funny book. Heck, I would probably kick in another 500 and buy a real nice vintage electric guitar that I could play and admire every day... Wow, crazy prices. It makes me wish I would have kept my 9.0 TR22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorick Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 1 minute ago, JvR11 said: Wow, crazy prices. It makes me wish I would have kept my 9.0 TR22. I bought the 2.5 on a recent CC auction and was thinking about that lovely 9.0... When it was for sale, I thought the price was too high. Stupid stupid stupid.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) I think I've shared this before but here is what I believe to be the source picture of TLP 10. It is from a source drawing book (Loomis) that Baker was known to carry around with him. Edited April 23, 2017 by JvR11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted April 23, 2017 Author Share Posted April 23, 2017 5 minutes ago, Yorick said: I bought the 2.5 on a recent CC auction and was thinking about that lovely 9.0... When it was for sale, I thought the price was too high. Stupid stupid stupid.... Yes, I thought I had overpaid for it at the time but probably not so in today's market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
