• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Playboy #1, how many versions of this exist?
0

Started by ComicConnoisseur,

31 posts in this topic

Mr 9.8

Mr 9.8

Posted
Posted
My friend tells me at least three different versions? any info and which version is the most valuable?

PlayboyMarilynMonroeCover1.jpg

The original. :gossip:

Aren't their a bunch of reprints running around? (shrug)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mschmidt

mschmidt

Posted
Posted
My friend tells me at least three different versions? any info and which version is the most valuable?

PlayboyMarilynMonroeCover1.jpg

The original. :gossip:

Aren't their a bunch of reprints running around? (shrug)

 

If your replies are this useless, why even bother posting them?

 

There are three versions of the original Playboy #1 from 1953 - a newsstand edition, an edition known as the "page 3 copy" (where page 3 is numbered) and an edition known as the "red star copy" (which has a red star next to the P in "Playboy").

 

There's also an official reprint from 2007 which is the exact same size & has the exact same content as the original (including the ads).

 

Of the three original editions, the red star & page 3 copies are much, much rarer than the regular newsstand editions - and do command a premium when the book comes up for auction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
az rancher-migration

az rancher-migration

Posted
Posted
There are three versions of the original Playboy #1 from 1953 - a newsstand edition, an edition known as the "page 3 copy" (where page 3 is numbered) and an edition known as the "red star copy" (which has a red star next to the P in "Playboy").
What are you calling the newsstand edition, was the page 3 copy not a newsstand edition, and what was the purpose of the red star?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
az rancher-migration

az rancher-migration

Posted
Posted
It was a funny response. Also, I never knew about the different versions of Playboy #1. As a collector, how easy/difficult is it to obtain a copy of this without paying through the teeth?
If you want a re-print, they go for $20-$30 on Ebay, if you want an original in poor condition, it will be 10 times that.

 

Rancher

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mschmidt

mschmidt

Posted
Posted
There are three versions of the original Playboy #1 from 1953 - a newsstand edition, an edition known as the "page 3 copy" (where page 3 is numbered) and an edition known as the "red star copy" (which has a red star next to the P in "Playboy").
What are you calling the newsstand edition, was the page 3 copy not a newsstand edition, and what was the purpose of the red star?

 

The page 3 copies are newsstand editions as well - apart from the fact that page 3 is numbered, some of the wordings beneath the cartoons in the magazine are different than those in the "regular" newsstand edition.

 

Nobody's really sure about the significance of the red star - one of the theories is that when the first issue of Playboy was printed, it was relatively common to print a star on the cover to signify a reprint (similar to what they do on US currency). So, possibly, the red star edition is a reprint that was produced right after the first print run sold out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
az rancher-migration

az rancher-migration

Posted
Posted
Nobody's really sure about the significance of the red star - one of the theories is that when the first issue of Playboy was printed, it was relatively common to print a star on the cover to signify a reprint (similar to what they do on US currency). So, possibly, the red star edition is a reprint that was produced right after the first print run sold out.
Thanks, that's what I wrote on the playboy1953 page (I'm the owner, need to fix the link), I just thought somone might have put together more information than I have in the past 50 years...

 

rancher

Link to comment
Share on other sites
az rancher-migration

az rancher-migration

Posted
Posted
The stars you see on the cover of Playboy are for distribution coding to prevent distributors from spraying pallets with ink like they did on comics.
Huh? Yes in later years there were rumors about what the stars really meant, it went the gambit from distribution areas of the country so they could include different advertising, to how many times Hef had slept with the playmate. Playboy Advisor finally fessed up to it meant advertising areas. HOWEVER there was no advertising in Vol 1 Issue #1, so that blows that theory.

 

Now tell us what the spraying the pallets with ink was for?

 

Rancher

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Flash105

Flash105

Posted
Posted
The stars you see on the cover of Playboy are for distribution coding to prevent distributors from spraying pallets with ink like they did on comics.
Huh? Yes in later years there were rumors about what the stars really meant, it went the gambit from distribution areas of the country so they could include different advertising, to how many times Hef had slept with the playmate. Playboy Advisor finally fessed up to it meant advertising areas. HOWEVER there was no advertising in Vol 1 Issue #1, so that blows that theory.

 

Now tell us what the spraying the pallets with ink was for?

 

Rancher

 

WTTB :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
michaelangelo-migration

michaelangelo-migration

Posted
Posted

At the local distribution warehouses pallets of comics, magazines, and other newsstand items were broken down by bundles into different routes for the delivery guys. Often colors were used as an easy way to identify routes. The bundles would be tagged with different colors of spray paint on the ends to quickly identify which routes they were supposed to go on. Sometimes the paint would bleed over onto the cover, especially at the beginning or end of the spray. This total disregard for the obvious value of these fine collectibles is the reason my 9.6 copy of Green Lantern #76 was graded 9.0 by CGC... :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
0
Go to topic listing