Revel in History - Post your Platinums Here!!!! 3 3

[*paull*]

Great stuff, thanks! I love the back cover!

[TomG]

These books were originally published as thicker books with later editions broken into several issues which are noted on the covers as Part1, etc. The CGC certified edition is a later edition which is still early 1900s. Page 1022 of the 35th edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has a color photo of the 1892 edition which features the Chicago Worlds Fair.

[esquirecomics]

A rare copy of Mutt and Jeff in the Trenches from 1916. Condition is to behold given the age. Picked it up this weekend at NY Comic Con from Mr. Platinum himself - Bob B.

 

[Scrooge]

A rare copy of Mutt and Jeff in the Trenches from 1916. Condition is to behold given the age. Picked it up this weekend at NY Comic Con from Mr. Platinum himself - Bob B.

 

Great pick-up. Sounds like an interesting book.

[Timulty]

I knew that Mutt and Jeff went back to at least the 20's but man, that is one old comic. Interesting about the coupon book format. I take it, a lot of comics from this time were the same?

[Scrooge]

Mutt and Jeff, well, at least Mutt, first appeared back around November 1907. Mutt didn't meet Jeff until March 1908. So, by 1916, the strip had been going on for a good 8 years.

[Timulty]

Interesting. I will have to remember that. I remember seeing the occassional book like that about back in the 80's at old farm sales. I didn't think much of them though. I might have one tucked away in storage somewhere in Kansas. I will have to take a look. Thanks for the info Mark and Scrooge.

[esquirecomics]

The British edition from 1887. Palmer Cox's book, according to Beerbohm and Olson, "set the precedent for Platinum Age by collecting and reprinting previously published material.

 

 

Personally, I don't see this book as a "comic book". Cox was a marketing genuis to be sure, but the book looks to me to be an illustrated children's book.

[ft88]

Except for the fact that the Brownies later appear in the Four Color line.

 

Your point though is one of the reasons why Platinum "comic books" have never really taken off in price - as ultra rare as they are.

[esquirecomics]

Except for the fact that the Brownies later appear in the Four Color line.

 

Your point though is one of the reasons why Platinum "comic books" have never really taken off in price - as ultra rare as they are.

 

There are certainly Platinum "comic books" that are less illustrated children's books and more actually "comics", but this is not one of them. I think there has been a penchant to simply take all the related items from this period and jam them into an era, sorta like trying to force a square peg in a round hole. It just has to fit.

[esquirecomics]

Of course, that is not to say that books like The Brownies and Palmer Cox did not significantly influence the future of comics. Clearly they did. But it doesn't mean that apples and oranges are the same.

[Forbush-Man]

I think there has been a penchant to simply take all the related items from this period and jam them into an era, sorta like trying to force a square peg in a round hole. It just has to fit.

 

 

Everything fits if you have a hammer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[esquirecomics]

[Weird Paper]

Here's a rare one. Found it for $35 in a used bookstore (chain). At the time, Overstreet listed only one known copy. I've seen it pop up a couple of times since then.

Edited June 16, 2006 by Weird Paper

[Weird Paper]

Not the Action 1 of Platinum comics, but maybe the Batman 1.

Nicer than it looks in the scan--tight binding, white pages and some of the mmmmost beautiful printing you'll see.

Edited June 16, 2006 by Weird Paper

[esquirecomics]

Here's a rare one. Found it for $35 in a used bookstore (chain). At the time, Overstreet listed only one known copy. I've seen it pop up a couple of times since then.

 

[Weird Paper]

My favorite Plat book.

Best thing: 100 cartoons by Opper at his best.

Next best thing: Teddy Roosevelt as a little kid on a hobby horse.

Edited June 21, 2006 by Weird Paper

[iggy]

Outcault! Opper! Great stuff! I'd love to get a copy of Pore Lil' Mose, it always seems to go pretty high (even in poor condition), and some people buy the book just to seperate the pages and individually frame them! Great for decorators, but just try to sell an individual page to a collector afterwards... not worth it. For Opper fans, Bill Nye's History of the United States book (329+ pages) is a treasure trove with an approximate average of an illustration every other page or so... here's a sampling:

 

 

I'm wondering if he was a direct influence on R. Crumb.

 

Notice the Alfred E. Neuman looking chap?

[TomG]

Outcault! Opper! Great stuff! I'd love to get a copy of Pore Lil' Mose, it always seems to go pretty high (even in poor condition), and some people buy the book just to seperate the pages and individually frame them! Great for decorators, but just try to sell an individual page to a collector afterwards... not worth it.

 

The problem with Pore Lil' Mose is that the book is collected by many different collectors not just comic collectors. This book is of interest to people who collect Black Americana memorabilia. For over 30 years numerous copies have been cut up and destroyed. It is not uncommon to find single pages of this book framed and for sale at antique shops. Needless to say high grade examples of the book are very scarce. About 12 years ago I saw a antique dealer pay $1,000 for a coverless copy which he was going to seperate and sell page by page.

[Weird Paper]

Outcault! Opper! Great stuff! I'd love to get a copy of Pore Lil' Mose, it always seems to go pretty high (even in poor condition), and some people buy the book just to seperate the pages and individually frame them! Great for decorators, but just try to sell an individual page to a collector afterwards... not worth it.

 

The problem with Pore Lil' Mose is that the book is collected by many different collectors not just comic collectors. This book is of interest to people who collect Black Americana memorabilia. For over 30 years numerous copies have been cut up and destroyed. It is not uncommon to find single pages of this book framed and for sale at antique shops. Needless to say high grade examples of the book are very scarce. About 12 years ago I saw a antique dealer pay $1,000 for a coverless copy which he was going to seperate and sell page by page.

 

I actually found my copy at the Antiquarian book show in LA back in Feb, 2000. Every couple of years (usually) a childrens' book dealer will have a copy. It wasn't cheap, unless you compare it to the price in the guide, which I think is too high. I had a dealer tag, so I was able to buy it at a discount. It's still the most I ever paid for a Plat, but I don't envision myself buying any of the Mickey books, or BLB's 15K Little Sammy Sneeze, so it will probably be the most I ever pay for a Plat.

If you ever get a chance to peruse a copy, I recommend it. The color printing is phenomenal.