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

[Surfing Alien]

I sold my later print of this last sale since I finally found a nice copy of the first print. All I can say is that it's the Dickens trying to find the first print of this unforgettable fantasy in nice shape.

Bill Teason's cover art on this captures such a strange creature with eerie detail. It fits the story so well - is she or isn't she a witch? Shapeshifter? You'll have to read it for yourself, sometimes she seems like a very ordinary wise azz child-teen.

I had long discussions with several dealers at the L.A. Vintage paperback about how compelling a little book it is (and how no one at that show had a copy - it was one I was looking for there.)

[Sarg]

On 5/16/2024 at 4:54 PM, Surfing Alien said:

I sold my later print of this last sale since I finally found a nice copy of the first print. All I can say is that it's the Dickens trying to find the first print of this unforgettable fantasy in nice shape.

Bill Teason's cover art on this captures such a strange creature with eerie detail. It fits the story so well - is she or isn't she a witch? Shapeshifter? You'll have to read it for yourself, sometimes she seems like a very ordinary wise azz child-teen.

I had long discussions with several dealers at the L.A. Vintage paperback about how compelling a little book it is (and how no one at that show had a copy - it was one I was looking for there.)

I have one. Had no idea it was hard to find. I bought if off ABE around 2018...

[Surfing Alien]

On 5/16/2024 at 6:06 PM, Sarg said:

I have one. Had no idea it was hard to find. I bought if off ABE around 2018...

M2041 in nice shape has gotten pretty tough. It took me about a year to find a really nice one at a decent price. For some reason, similar to Lancer books, the cover paper gets brittle if not stored well and the corners get stiff bends or chipped off.

[Hap Hazard]

On 5/16/2024 at 3:19 PM, Surfing Alien said:

M2041 in nice shape has gotten pretty tough. It took me about a year to find a really nice one at a decent price. For some reason, similar to Lancer books, the cover paper gets brittle if not stored well and the corners get stiff bends or chipped off.

Have this one

 

[Surfing Alien]

 

On 5/16/2024 at 6:29 PM, Hap Hazard said:

Have this one

 

You in the club  

I think as Shirley Jackson has risen in the canon of literature, all of her 50's - 70's paperbacks have very quietly, become widely collected, and deservedly so.

To me she's similar to Walter Tevis, a fairly low output but almost universally exceptional and lasting.

 

 

 

Edited May 16 by Surfing Alien

[BitterOldMan]

On 5/15/2024 at 7:36 PM, Darwination said:

There's a couple of volumes but also a deluxe edition, is that right?  Trying to sort out what's what - 

How many paintings were sold? An heir had a large stash? That's great news in any case, many pulp artists are not so lucky.

I'd certainly appreciate seeing a choice page or few from the auction catalog

 

 

Here is the deluxe version book that I purchased from the UK in 2018.  Beautiful color reproductions can be found throughout the marvelous book with 316 wonderful pages.  Now that I am an older collector, I tend to splurge on the nicer editions. 

[Darwination]

[frozentundraguy]

It's been slow for me on the PB front recently, but I have just added a few recently.

Originally published in 1864 this is the  1956 Ace edition of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Verne.

 

Also acquired the first of two similar compilation of short stories edited by Healy and McComas.

 

Also spotted this hard boiled Graphic Mystery by Richard Powell. Three of his novels were adapted for film.

 

Kudos to Pat for sharing "3 From out There" and it has an avant-garde cover common in the late 50's and 60's.

 

Added this book, as I have not read much of John Campbell's work. Island of Space was originally published in 1931 in Amazing Stories Quarterly.

[Surfing Alien]

On 5/17/2024 at 1:41 PM, frozentundraguy said:

It's been slow for me on the PB front recently, but I have just added a few recently.

Originally published in 1864 this is the  1956 Ace edition of Journey to the Center of the Earth by Verne.

 

Also acquired the first of two similar compilation of short stories edited by Healy and McComas.

 

Also spotted this hard boiled Graphic Mystery by Richard Powell. Three of his novels were adapted for film.

 

Kudos to Pat for sharing "3 From out There" and it has an avant-garde cover common in the late 50's and 60's.

 

Added this book, as I have not read much of John Campbell's work. Island of Space was originally published in 1931 in Amazing Stories Quarterly.

Nice mix. It always feels good to get some new ones in

 

[Surfing Alien]

I'm going to share a little geekiness here. My pal Steve Wallace, the indefatigable Flickr cover contributor has unlocked a little Rosetta Stone on a couple of the most famous Avon covers and helped push me to crack open a little bit more of the mystery of Ann Cantor, who was credited with a pile of great Avon covers but who obviously didn't paint many of them. I'm gonna use his Flickr scans for expediency

For a long time, Avon collectors have wondered who was the painter with the initials "RG" who signed "Peeping Tom" and "The Girl With The Hungry Eyes", two famous early Avon pbs ("Peeping" is technically Novel Library, but they are just Avons with another name) "Peeping" has never been credited, "Girl" is in the copyright office as Ann Cantor, but obviously by "RG"

 

 

"French Summer" , not quite as famous as those two but also credited to Cantor in the copyright office is obviously the same, kind of loose, style as these two and shares the initials.

 

 

The breakthrough was Steve's recent posting of "Lani" by Margarte Widemer, Pocket Books No. 680. It features the initials in the lower left corner and the similar style.

 

 

Of course, Pockets at this time have the artist's name on the back. Lo and behold, "RG" is Robert Graves.

 

 

We haven't dug much into Graves but wanted to share, since us two geeks were in a lather messaging over Flickr   We have both felt that Pocket's long run of back cover credits will help unlock some of the unknown artists from other publishers. 

This little discovery encouraged me to continue digging into Ann Cantor's genealogy from the little I previously had and I made a little breakthrough, not enough for an article since there's so little known about her work, but at least I know who she is now, at least from birth around 1911 until the 1990's where she is still alive but the trail runs cold for today

 

 

 

[Surfing Alien]

It's not a Friday if you don't break off the chain for a moment of some Friday Fun...

Country Girls are fun whether Gross painted them or Rader painted them...

Cameo Books No. 311, 1952, & Midwood 32-579, 1965. Pretty Girls.

[Darwination]

On the Cameos, how much do collectors pay attention to the edition number?  Like the Girl Hungry I posted over in digests was like the first of three editions.  I didn't realize there were three printings at the time (and it's high grade anyways), but I never would have known the reprints follow each other so closely.  I'm not sure the fact ones a reprint would bother be too much if it's in top shape

[Surfing Alien]

On 5/17/2024 at 11:04 PM, Darwination said:

On the Cameos, how much do collectors pay attention to the edition number?  Like the Girl Hungry I posted over in digests was like the first of three editions.  I didn't realize there were three printings at the time (and it's high grade anyways), but I never would have known the reprints follow each other so closely.  I'm not sure the fact ones a reprint would bother be too much if it's in top shape

True High Grade is so rare on all the sexy digests, that they are all sought after in high grade. 1st numbering/printing is a preferred want for me but I'm an old fogey collector who appreciates the Canon - although sometimes 1sts are not available and maybe irrelevant to CGC-cover-only- is- the-Bible-Type cover collectors

[BitterOldMan]

Volume 2 looks like a print on demand book.

 

[GACollectibles]

Pulled a nice pile of reading for the next week or so.  Does anyone know how high the Books Are Everything series goes?  I’ve seen up to #30 but not sure if there were more. The upper ones are the auction catalogs.

[moonpool]

I'm pretty certain 30 was the last one I received.

[Darwination]

Company Woman - Jim Layne (1962.Beacon B490F) cover artist unknown

A different copy than the picture I ordered from, but I ain't sending her back.  Wait, am I collecting sleaze now?!

[Randall Dowling]

On 5/18/2024 at 7:37 PM, Darwination said:

Company Woman - Jim Layne (1962.Beacon B490F) cover artist unknown

A different copy than the picture I ordered from, but I ain't sending her back.  Wait, am I collecting sleaze now?!

I think, perhaps, you always have been...

[Surfing Alien]

On 5/18/2024 at 9:05 PM, Randall Dowling said:

I think, perhaps, you always have been...

Sleaze, done with real artistry, is a pretty thing 

[Darwination]

Great, now I'm looking through another sleaze publisher's catalogue

Actually, it is pretty great