chuck rozanski and his articles on the mile high collection

[doc_sampson-migration]

ive just read chucks story on the mile high collection .read it and see for yourself.

 

its a very interesting story and i think all comic collectors owe a thank you to chuck for his part in developing and shaping our hobby from his find of the edgar church collection.

 

to all the rozanski haters/criticizers, at least he has done something positive with his life and is grateful for and acknowleges the opportunity the edgar church collection gave him.

 

amazing collection, will probably never be a find like it ever again.

 

 

[drbanner]

It is quite interesting, and I don't see where all the "sour grapes" comments come from relative to the actual deal to purchase the books. Chuck lost friends and was looked down on for selling the books at high prices, but there was nothing in the articles suggesting he held any animosity towards the Church family. The way I read it, they wanted to clean out the house in one fell swoop, and Chuck had to extend himself to the limit financially to come up with the funds to pick them up. I read where someone said the collection was purchased for $2k, but I don't see any indication of the purchase price in the article...

[dam60]

Is there a website that you guys can refer me to? Thanks,

 

DAM

[drbanner]

Read all about it! You'll need to click on the "Tales from the Database" link near the bottom of the front page, and there you'll see a series of articles on the Mile High collection.

[dam60]

Thanks!

[underthebigw]

I do have to say that, after the last thread dealing with this subject, I went and read his own account. And I'm glad I did. I never faulted him for the multiples of guide he charged, but I had always felt it was contemptible that he paid so little for the collection. Now, after reading all the CBG articles together ( I had seen a few of them years ago), I'm convinced that his account of the Church family's disdain for the collection and their eagerness to dispose of it more than justifies what he paid for it. In my profession, I've dealt often with people whose feelings about an ill or deceased family member has been played out in their handling of an estate. It's pretty sad. Regardless, I can hardly fault CR's handling of this-if his account is true, he was upfront regarding the collection's value and the family had little respect for the collection. Good for him. And the hobby.

[comicinvestor-migration]

Man, you guys are real suckers. Do you honestly believe that Chuck was totally upfront about the collection's worth and the family just ignored it?

 

If so, you are a true simpleton. I have never, ever met a person who was told that X is worth hundreds of thousands (or more) and then took $2K for it. Have you?

[drbanner]

After re-reading the article, I didn't see anything about $2k. Where did you get that figure from?

[Crowzilla]

To quote from Chuck's article on the bid price:

It was based upon my inspection of those 1953-1958 used comics by which I made my original bid for the collection

 

My guess is that the realtor/heirs had casually looked at prices (and Chuck says he shows them prices for these books - not Action #1, and that they had no interest in trying to sell several thousand $2 western/funny animal comics on their own when they were having a hard time even getting someone to come look at the collection. They knew they would have to wholesale them out and accepted Chuck's offer.

 

Now when Chuck dug through the rest of the closet and found what he did, I would say lucky for him and stupid for the sellers not to see what they had. But the deal and price had already been agreed upon. I'm sure Chuck's guilt about the earlier issues is what made him buy Church's artwork to help make up for the fact that they had no idea what was in the back closet, but no one forced them to accept his offer.

 

[comicinvestor-migration]

I'm gonna drop this for now, since it's quite obvious there's a ton of guilt in these forums. Maybe some people scammed a mini-Church collection, made tons, and now the old folks are living on dog food.

 

Either way, I can't compete with the tell-tale heart thumping away, and creating some serious animosity with some board members. I recommend seeing a therapist, so you guys can get past the guilt.

[underthebigw]

Hey CI--in general, I agree with most everything you say. But you are way off the mark here. (Nevermind the name calling). Yes, I have seen people turn down extra money (often lots) for the sake of moving on with life. I've seen this both in my professional life as a clinical psychologist and in my collecting life going to estate and garage sales. People are often so distraught or ridden with anger and guilt that they are all too often willing to dispose of things just for the sake of not thinking about the situation or being troubled with matters they deem of as trivial when faced by life's real troubles. It can be sad. And in the case of the Church collection, it certainly sounds like these people were ready to toss the collection, which they regarded as rubbish and an inconvenience.

[drbanner]

I really didn't see a $2k figure either...nor any animosity on Chuck's part towards the Church family. So feel free to "drop" it, just like your great butter conspiracy that we never did hear the outcome of because you "dropped" that too...

[comicinvestor-migration]

Thanks for the insight, and I'll take your word for it that you've met people who would give away something worth hundreds of thousands now, for $2-thousand.

 

I've never seen the like, but you may have.

[PigPen-migration]

In part 2 of Mr. Rozanski's essay, he writes:

 

"Without going into the details of the exact amount I paid, I offered a price per frying chicken box."

 

 

[comicinvestor-migration]

Yeah sorry Banner, I'll get right on the 100-Year Old Butter right after I cover off the inside scoop on the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

 

You all know this butter tals is total BS (or I hope so,for your sake), but only because I state my disagreement, you take the side of the Brother's Grim.

[underthebigw]

Another factor--if the family felt some time pressure, either imposed by disposing of the house or estate, or by their own emotional needs, there were really very few options at the time. How long would it take, how many phone calls, etc. would be needed to have someone from out of state fly in and make an offer. There was no internet, fewer stores and dealers, etc. They probably simply wanted to dispose of it as quickly as they could and, if they made a few bucks, so be it. His account certainly makes it sound like their main priority was to clean out the house.

[comicinvestor-migration]

Hey, no amount of rationalization will change the fact that I would have done the right thing and made amends either through a retroactive payment or some form of Church scholarship.

 

Call me crazy, but when good things happen to me, I spread the wealth. I guess I don't have that "gimme, gimme, gimme" greedy character trait that so many collectors and dealers exhibit, and is quite common is obsessive compulsives who also collect.

 

After writing that, I'm pretty damn glad to be a moral person, and not some desperate scam artist looking for their next hit.

[tb]

> His account certainly makes it sound like their main priority was to clean out the house.

 

There is a picture of the house in Gerber's Photo-Journal guide. As far as I remember, it looked quite modest(?). I wonder if getting rid of the closet would have had the same priority to the family had they known that the comics were most likely worth far more than the house?

 

 

[Bonds25]

How do you know what he did after the fact? You act like you're a member of the Church family and know the inner-most details.

[PovertyRow]

I'm halfway through. It is a fascinating read. Love them, hate them, believe them or disbelieve them or have no feelins at all, those documents are a piece of comic history.