Comics, Pulps, and Paperbacks: Why such a discrepancy in values? 25 25

[Surfing Alien]

On 1/31/2024 at 6:13 PM, jimjum12 said:

I was addicted to these as a preteen, I snapped up any that had the "weird looking" Peanuts, which turned out to be the early 50's strips. Peanuts has always been out of reach as OA, but one of my big regrets was passing on a 1951 Pogo Strip original at a local rare book store. They wanted $750 for it. Hamilton Books was the name and one of his specialties was N.C. Wyeth material... which I love. I also turned up a few GA collections there. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Me too. I called them the "Big Head" Peanuts   It's funny because Schulz did not think they were his best work and let the material from the first two years in the first book go unreprinted after it finished its printings at Holt, Rinehart and Winston - but everyone I knew loved those big headed early strips!

Schulz and Walt Kelly were mutual admirers from early on. Here's a cool ad I snipped from Publisher's Weekly

 

[Darwination]

Nice work, Lowell, the page design lets you get at a lot of information very easily, well done

[moonpool]

On 1/31/2024 at 12:00 AM, Surfing Alien said:

More British books you're not collecting?

[Surfing Alien]

On 1/31/2024 at 6:57 PM, Darwination said:

Nice work, Lowell, the page design lets you get at a lot of information very easily, well done

Thanks - that's much appreciated as ease of access was the intention

[Surfing Alien]

On 1/31/2024 at 9:27 PM, moonpool said:

More British books you're not collecting?

British books? I don't see any British books? Where?

[OtherEric]

In today, not particularly expensive as MMM's go but one of the harder ones to find.  I suspect a lot of people saw the reused cover and thought the already had it.  Throwing in my scan of the earlier Saint volume that used the cover as well for comparison:

[OtherEric]

On 1/31/2024 at 7:01 PM, Surfing Alien said:

British books? I don't see any British books? Where?

Here's the one I got in today.  It has my vote as the hardest PKD book published in his lifetime to locate, given that the only US release was a Gregg Press hardcover.  This is the first paperback edition, unless you count a German translation that omits half the stories, which I really don't:

[alecholland]

On 1/31/2024 at 4:05 PM, Surfing Alien said:

Since I consider this the main paperback thread, I always try to announce news here first. Some of you know that I am a bit of a Peanuts fanatic and that I've been working quietly behind the scenes to research and publish a guide to the First Edition, First Printings of the early Peanuts digest sized strip reprint books published by Rinehart & Co. and subsequently by Holt, Rinehart and Winston from 1952 through 1974.

For reference, they look like these:

You can work on something forever, tweak endlessly and always wonder if its done and never publish it   Any of you involved with any research probably knows that circle jerk intimately    Well, I promised myself that I would get it online this January and here it is, January 31st and work has been busy and I ran that sale thread and February 1st is looming and it promised to be the day I blew that self-imposed deadline.

So I worked deep into the night a couple nights this week to do some final tweaks and figure out techie things like re-directing domain names and such and conferred with Nat Gertler, the blogger behind Aaugh.com, who provided lots of insight and helpful commentary and promised myself, like Aragorn at the Gates of Mordor, that there might come a day when I blow a self-imposed deadline, but this would not be that day! So yesterday, I sent Nat the link, everything worked and he announced the page on his Aaugh Blog and the site is live

Here's the link:

https://www.peanutsfirsteditions.com/

It is still a work in progress, I do intend to add some more pictures and documentation of the later Rinehart books and the hardcover books on the introduction page, but I was not gonna let that stop me from getting the checklist posted, which is the meat and potatoes of the project. If any of you like this kind of stuff and want to collect it, I hope the site proves useful and at least somewhat clear in the method of presentation.

The first printings of the first three books are rare. It was and still is quite startling to me how much confusion there is in the marketplace about what constitutes first printings of the first editions. Even the Schulz Museum, who I consulted on the project, had no scholarship on the early editions of the publishing empire that Peanuts became. I hope this site provides some navigation for collectors to find their way a bit in the sea of printings spawned from humble beginnings back in 1952

 

Very cool!!

Back in a former life (about 14 years ago) I was the head graphic designer for a company that made bookmarks for museums. I was lucky enough to get to work with the Charles M. Schulz Museum to create some die-cut bookmarks of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and Woodstock for their store. I looked for the couple I kept last night to post a photo, but I think they are packed away somewhere. They were really great to work with, but they were very specific about what we could and couldn't do with the characters. It was a fun experience. 

[Pat Calhoun]

the Schulz Museum is a class act and a cool place to visit...

[Surfing Alien]

Some Friday fun

Lizzie (The Bird's Nest) by Shirley Jackson. Signet S1400, April 1957. Really nice Clark Hulings cover art (and a movie tie in edition).  A tough Jackson PB in any shape. I haven't read this story yet but am currently reading "We Have Always Lived In The Castle", which is really eerie.

 

And some Bantam love - they don't get enough

I love the detail and front t back cover by Harry Schaare on this one. One of those where I'm sure he painted way more than was worth what he got paid. It's also technically a bondage cover on the front and spanking cover on the back

 

Earl Mayan cover on this one

 

Charles Andres on this one, very cool with the Devil "picture in picture". I love the Bantams that had artist blurbs in the front like this one. Such great information in them aside from the artist ID. I'm guessing his face is the Devil?

[N e r V]

On 2/1/2024 at 11:26 AM, Pat Calhoun said:

the Schulz Museum is a class act and a cool place to visit...

I really need to go there someday since it’s located in my state.😐

Got to meet him several times over the years before his passing and my old original Peanuts art is something that I will never ever part with. It goes to the kids….

[jimjum12]

A couple of cool books. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[moonpool]

I don't have many Pyramids, but here's a few.  I found Sailor's Leave in a bookstore long ago for $1. 

[Surfing Alien]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:07 PM, N e r V said:

my old original Peanuts art

[jimjum12]

One thing about becoming a paperback guy, our tastes begin to vary widely. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Randall Dowling]

On 2/6/2024 at 11:09 AM, jimjum12 said:

One thing about becoming a paperback guy, our tastes begin to vary widely. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

100%, James!  The landscape is so vast and there's an amazing number of features to get caught up with- scarcity, subject matter, cover art, age, etc.

Nice books, by the way! 

[Darwination]

"a revealing and riotous story of the bosom business"

[Surfing Alien]

On 2/6/2024 at 12:31 PM, Randall Dowling said:

100%, James!  The landscape is so vast and there's an amazing number of features to get caught up with- scarcity, subject matter, cover art, age, etc.

Nice books, by the way! 

You forgot to mention multiple great covers by different awesome artists on the same titles. Marchetti above, Maguire below 

[johnenock]

Just got these locally for a dollar apiece(a couple are unread). Problem: What do you guys use to get price sticker residue off?

 

This one is probably my favorite cover of the bunch:

I'm pretty well read but I have never heard of Thorp McClusky(can't be a real name, right?):

Hilarious "Confucius-like" cover blurb:

A rough one, but had to save it from the junk pile:

Edited February 6 by johnenock

[alecholland]

On 2/6/2024 at 4:22 PM, johnenock said:

Just got these locally for a dollar apiece(a couple are unread). Problem: What do you guys use to get price sticker residue off?

I'm curious about this as well. I have several paperbacks that have stickers on them. My LCS used lighter fluid to remove the sticker from a paperback I bought from them, but I'm pretty sure that's a no no.