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

[OtherEric]

[OtherEric]

[PopKulture]

5 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

I tried and couldn't get into it. Just not my cup of tea. I still had and want to re-acquire Junkie but for the graphics & as a cultural artifact, as you said.

It's really an irresistible artifact! I don't have one, and I've seen very few over the years, even at nosebleed prices. I think it's the sort of book that disappears into collections and stays there long-term. The last one I held was at a postcard show. The dealer wanted $400, and I can't see myself ever paying near that. Honestly, for that kind of money, I want a Marvel Mystery Comics! My price paradigm will be forever stuck in the 1980's I guess.  

[OtherEric]

19 minutes ago, PopKulture said:

It's really an irresistible artifact! I don't have one, and I've seen very few over the years, even at nosebleed prices. I think it's the sort of book that disappears into collections and stays there long-term. The last one I held was at a postcard show. The dealer wanted $400, and I can't see myself ever paying near that. Honestly, for that kind of money, I want a Marvel Mystery Comics! My price paradigm will be forever stuck in the 1980's I guess.  

That's why I was so stunned when the store only asked $100 when I saw the copy in their case.

I fully agree that it's an irresistible artifact.  It's neither the most valuable or the rarest paperback, but I think it is easily the paperback most famous for being valuable and rare.  I think the one real milestone it can claim is it's the first paperback original that is really considered important in literary circles.  Which is still a big deal, given how little respect the pulps and early paperbacks got for decades.

I've probably posted this on the forums 10 times in the year and a half since I got it.  But since three of us have mentioned the book today and nobody has shown it yet, here I go again. I having this book:

[PopKulture]

39 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

I fully agree that it's an irresistible artifact.  It's neither the most valuable or the rarest paperback, but I think it is easily the paperback most famous for being valuable and rare.  I think the one real milestone it can claim is it's the first paperback original that is really considered important in literary circles.  Which is still a big deal, given how little respect the pulps and early paperbacks got for decades.

I agree!

And I would've pulled the trigger too. Every book doesn't have to be minty. Some are perfect just the way they are, and yours looks like it was read and enjoyed more than a few times - all part of the history of that particular copy. 

To illustrate the previous point, here's a piece of well-loved and worn sheet music from the 1880's. Someone lovingly hand-stitched the sheets back together after they split at the spine from years of use and enjoyment. Add to that all the dog ears, rounded corners and foxing and you have quite the tattered artifact. You know, that being said, I wouldn't appreciate this piece half as much if it was mint.  

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by PopKulture

[Surfing Alien]

16 hours ago, OtherEric said:

It's neither the most valuable or the rarest paperback, but I think it is easily the paperback most famous for being valuable and rare. 

It's funny because the later British edition, known as "The Digit Junkie", probably is the most valuable and rare paperback. Because of it's being recalled and ordered destroyed by the British Authorities shortly after publication for the back cover of the girl injecting the needle into her exposed, gartered, thigh, which was just too sleazy for them to take (Not my copy )

 

[Surfing Alien]

A real mixed bag in this week. Being an Avon geek, when I saw "The Man From Avon" I had to have it. I posted it on a Facebook site and someone said it couldn't be real, it had to be a mock up lol! I'm sure Avallone had an inside joke about it with the editors.

A decent copy of Dell #4, a pre-mapback #. I love the cover graphic on this one and the giant eyeball on these early Dells.

A pretty Charles Copeland cover Berkley. We've noted that Copeland is very much like Ray Johnson in his painting high cheekbones and arching eyebrows. Some of his sweat mag interiors are very hard to distinguish from Johnson other than they're credited. For some reason, his covers are all more distinguishable, the faces and bodies are uniformly slimmer. Just beautiful work.

Here's 2 late Johnson Gothic covers for Belmont that I found. I'm proud to say Bruce Brenner had never discovered these and was quite surprised to see them. These are from 1965, about the last year we've seen any paperbacks from Johnson. He illustrated some Tom Swift Hardcovers in the late 60's after this but that's about all we can find. Unless he's a different guy than the one David Saunders led us to, he lived until 1997 so it's a mystery at this time why he stopped painting. Possibly due to the changes in cover direction discussed previously.

 

Finally a couple of 1st pbs of some of Howard's non-Conan stories. I always loved these stories growing up so trying to pick a few up to read again. They're actually not so easy to find cheap if they're not all beat up.

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Surfing Alien

[OtherEric]

57 minutes ago, Surfing Alien said:

A decent copy of Dell #4, a pre-mapback #. I love the cover graphic on this one and the giant eyeball on these early Dells.

 

I believe that's a true first, later editions had a map added.

http://www.bookscans.com/Oddities/mapback.htm

[Surfing Alien]

3 hours ago, OtherEric said:

I believe that's a true first, later editions had a map added.

http://www.bookscans.com/Oddities/mapback.htm

Bookscans is an incredible labor of love and a staggering resource. Helping a group of people myself right now just to document one artist, it's mind boggling to think of what Bruce Black has done there.

[frozentundraguy]

Picked up a couple of Shadow PB's recently, been pretty busy acquiring comic books of late.

 

[OtherEric]

2 minutes ago, frozentundraguy said:

Picked up a couple of Shadow PB's recently, been pretty busy acquiring comic books of late.

 

 

Love the Steranko Shadow covers.  If I ever get my storage unit sorted I'll scan and post all my Shadow Paperbacks... I've got all 9 of the Belmont originals, the 7 Bantam reprints, and the 27 Pyramid/Jove books with Steranko covers, including the 4 with the variant art reprints.  And the Tempo Grove of Doom.

It's a fun set of mini-runs to put together.  Trying to find the Variant Steranko books is tricky because so many sellers just say Steranko cover and don't show a picture.

[Surfing Alien]

I just picked up a nice copy of that Exile of Time Ace with the Schomburg cover that @frozentundraguy posted recently. Been looking for one since then. The Schomburg paperback covers are a nice little mini-run as @OtherEric puts it. I don't think there's more than a dozen if that many.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Surfing Alien

[Pat Calhoun]

that's a fave, but this one has some nice crazola...

[OtherEric]

8 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

I just picked up a nice copy of that Exile of Time Ace with the Schomburg cover that @frozentundraguy posted recently. Been looking for one since then. The Schomburg paperback covers are a nice little mini-run as @OtherEric puts it. I don't think there's more than a dozen if that many.

 

None of these are my books, this is what found checking ISFDB for Schomburg covers, then rejecting magazines, hardcovers, and reprints.  9 SF books, not sure how many non-SF books he did:

[Westy Steve]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:01 PM, Surfing Alien said:

It's funny because the later British edition, known as "The Digit Junkie", probably is the most valuable and rare paperback. Because of it's being recalled and ordered destroyed by the British Authorities shortly after publication for the back cover of the girl injecting the needle into her exposed, gartered, thigh, which was just too sleazy for them to take (Not my copy )

 

 

Cool! I thought Love Addict was the only thigh injection out there.  Wonder if there are more?

 

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by Westy Steve

[Surfing Alien]

15 hours ago, OtherEric said:

None of these are my books, this is what found checking ISFDB for Schomburg covers, then rejecting magazines, hardcovers, and reprints.  9 SF books, not sure how many non-SF books he did:

The only other two I know of are the 2 other Popular Library's that BBGun recently posted - I borrowed his scan for this since he had both together in one pic. That makes 11 total.

[Surfing Alien]

2 hours ago, Westy Steve said:

Wonder if there are more?

Not that I can think of - I have this classy classic going into the arm... but if there's any others going into the thigh, they're probably in those tawdry 60's books

[*paull*]

Here are a few books that I sold in the past year:

 

[OtherEric]

So, having created the list of stuff to look for, here’s today’s haul from the local store:

[Surfing Alien]

That is beyond awesome that you scored that in one shot 🤘🤘🤘