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Kane File Copy 'Tecs in CC Auction

Started by Cosmic Boy,

21 posts in this topic

Cosmic Boy

Cosmic Boy

Posted
Posted

I think it's fairly safe to assume a lot of us here are looking at them, so I'll bring up the elephant in the room.

 

What do you guys think some of the biggies are going to go for?

 

Specifically the #27, #29, #31, #33 and #35 pre-Robins.

 

Despite coming from a bound volume, being brittle and missing pages, are these gonna go rake in the dough?

 

Might be the only shot the economically challenged (myself included :grin: ) crowd has at these books ever again.

 

Or will their pedigree drive them up to obscene prices despite condition?

 

Thoughts?

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Dark Knight

Dark Knight

Posted
Posted

CBCS mentioned on Facebook that a customer dropped of what looks to be the same copes of Tec 27 and Batman 1 being auctioned off by CC. Are these 2 books going to be graded by them first before the auction or maybe they are different copues? Or perhaps the owner just wanted to show off those books to CBCS? I'm a little confused.

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snitzer

snitzer

Posted
Posted
CBCS mentioned on Facebook that a customer dropped of what looks to be the same copes of Tec 27 and Batman 1 being auctioned off by CC. Are these 2 books going to be graded by them first before the auction or maybe they are different copues? Or perhaps the owner just wanted to show off those books to CBCS? I'm a little confused.

 

No insight provided by CBCS in the thread itself either. hm

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Dark Knight

Dark Knight

Posted
Posted
The provenance means nothing to me.

 

:o I'm in the opposite of how you feel. I think it's historically important and cool that these are Kane's personal copies. Just like any other Pedigree books that have been discovered, they have that uniqueness and history behind them.

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Gotham Kid

Gotham Kid

Posted
Posted
The provenance means nothing to me.

 

:o I'm in the opposite of how you feel. I think it's historically important and cool that these are Kane's personal copies. Just like any other Pedigree books that have been discovered, they have that uniqueness and history behind them.

 

I would agree on this.

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bluechip

bluechip

Posted
Posted
I looked at the books at SDCC and they really look beat up with brittle edges, especially around the spine and outer edges. I would be afraid to open one of the books.

 

Good luck!

 

The pages are supple enough that it was relatively easy to get pictures and to scan all the pages of several books without any damage. They are not a pile of flakes. If they were they would already have been reinforced with leaf casting. I believe that is what should be done with the books, anyway, but not everybody would want to do that. It's enough for people to know that it can be done.

 

In order to retain the provenance, it should be possible to arrange restoration/conservation/preservation whatever you want to call it by notifying the grading company and allowing them to vet the process. Then they should be leaf casted without changing the nature of the pages -- meaning they should be reinforced and the extra leaf-cast paper cut to conform to the original shape.

 

Several restoration experts quoted prices of 10-15K for all the pages (22 books total) in one big job (Tracey Heft quoted 12K) I am sure that included a big-job discount so the total for each book done separately would be more than that figure divided by 22.

 

For many years I had decent coverless copies of every book in the volumes, the idea being that a buyer would purchase them to have backup copies and/or so they could know the books could be restored to look like ordinary books (which was never my recommendation but I figured people might like to know that was an option)

 

So at any point the books could have been restored by marrying the covers to nice originals and would've looked VF or better no problem. But that, I believe, would have crossed the line to destroying or at least undermining their provenance.

 

I still have all or nearly all the pages missing from the kane books. I will know more detail when I see the grading notes. Before sending them out I noticed a few pages I thought had been missing had only come loose and put back out order. One loose page that I'd removed to show to restoration experts went into hiding and I didn't find it til after comicconnect did their page counts. When it turned up, in a mylar that somehow escaped notice, I eventually figured out it's the page thought to be missing from Kane's copy of Tec 40.

 

When I get exact info about which pages remain missing, I will make a list of what's available to "complete" the incomplete book. Some of the loose pages I have from other copies were even trimmed already before I got them -- so it wouldn't be necessary to destroy any books to get the loose pages and marry them (or, shack them up).

 

And one of the "back-up" books -- Tec 31 -- is purportedly also one from Kane's original collection (from the Heritage auction a few years' back which offered some of Kane's pre-Batman art and a couple incomplete coverless books (including the 31). So, if that's also Kane's and the bits match up, then the 31 could be completed as "married" but still be 100% Kane's.

 

They will be offered at ordinary FMV to anyone who purchases one of the corresponding copies and would like to know they have not only the kane book but anything which kane tore out to put in his swipe file.

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kinzebac

kinzebac

Posted
Posted
Indeed and at some pretty insane prices. I wonder if the coverless books are owned by the same seller, as the prices seem just as insane!!

 

James G

 

 

Yeah, the markup from the purchase price at auction last August is substantial to say the least.

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jgallo

jgallo

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I think there were very few that were 100% complete even with the later issues in the 40's they were missing pages if I recall. I figured that would keep the prices down but it didn't. I think I would rather over pay for an incomplete key rather then a random issue.

 

James G

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kinzebac

kinzebac

Posted
Posted
shame. I'd consider bidding on one if they were complete.

 

Peter, here is the interesting thing:

Bluechip said, and I believe that it was also mentioned at auction, that he would supply pages to complete the books. I find it very interesting that this is not mentioned in this new listing. It makes me wonder what happened with this. Maybe I should PM Bluechip. hm

 

 

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jgallo

jgallo

Posted
Posted

If he did supply the pages, that doesn't mean the new owner is

 

A-Including them

B-Would bother to marry them

C-Would pay to reslab them

 

I do think that should be noted if they are included but I think we have all accepted that these prices are not because of teh books but the fact they were Kane's copies.

 

James G

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kinzebac

kinzebac

Posted
Posted
If he did supply the pages, that doesn't mean the new owner is

 

A-Including them

B-Would bother to marry them

C-Would pay to reslab them

 

I do think that should be noted if they are included but I think we have all accepted that these prices are not because of teh books but the fact they were Kane's copies.

 

James G

 

(thumbs u I agree 100% James, especially the part about being included.

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