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Heritage pulp auctions
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Started by buttock,

233 posts in this topic

sagii

sagii

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Posted

I put in an early "let it ride" proxy on the Dime Detective lot (the April 1940 issue was the one I really wanted in it, though it was on the 'beat' side). But you long time pulp guys say on certain books sometimes you may not see it again so go for it when it does appear .

Well, proxy got outbid by one bid :cry:

Ah, well.....

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RedFury

RedFury

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Wow, what an auction!  I watched all 8+ hours of it and bid on over 50 lots, but I only won 7.  I was holding back because I knew the Cthulhu issue was coming up near the end and it was my primary target.  Alas, I fell short, and ended up not spending all that much.

The prices on most Weird Tales were very strong!  I was really surprised by most of those sales.  But this is the first time in a long time that a large selection of nicer copies has come to market at once, and there was a lot of interest.  Fun to watch! 

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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7 hours ago, Ricksneatstuff said:

The most exciting thing from my perspective was that there were 642 unique bidders in a dedicated pulp auction.  That bodes well for a healthy future for pulp interest. 

Did NP Gresham show up ?  :bigsmile: It was a nice auction and for once it was a night that I was free :cloud9: The pulps I noticed going for more than their typical levels were still somewhat reasonable compared to comics, which is nice. A regular person can still collect. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)(thumbsu

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Bookery

Bookery

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Went through the auction results quickly, and here are some observations--

I get the feeling there were a lot of newcomers to pulp collecting involved in the auction (probably from the comics field) as there were certainly some anomalies.  Pulps prized by traditional pulp collectors were often dismissed.  Clayton Astoundings-- one of the mainstays of older pulp collections, didn't fare well, generally bringing at or below guide.  The Shadow, a cornerstone of many collections, was met with thrifty bidding.  The 1932 classic first-look at The Shadow went for 1/2 guide, the classic Nov15 1932 cover went for guide, and others went at or below guide, including the scarcer final 3 issues and the Shadow Annuals.  The exception was the famous skeleton-cover from Jan. 15 1933 -- it went for over 10x guide!

Unless it was Lovecraft or Howard, there was little interest in authors.  Burroughs issues of Amazing went for guide, while in Astounding the 1st app. of Eric Frank Russell went for 1/2 guide, the 1st app. of Robert A. Heinlein just slightly over guide, and the 1st app. of Theodore Sturgeon brought about 1/2 guide.  Though many Weird Tales soared, the 1st August Derleth reached only 2/3 guide, and the 1st app. of Quinn's Jules de Grandin went for about 1/2 guide.  The 1st app. of Dan Turner in Spicy Detective brought guide level.

But much of the auction drew very high bids.  Doc Savage fared much better than his fellow Shadow from Street & Smith.  It's hard to compare value precisely, but clearly the restored Doc #1 went well above any interpretation of guide value.  The 2nd and 3rd issues went for about 30% over guide, while the 4th issue went nearly double, and the 6th issue approx. 4x.  Unlike the final pulp-format issues of The Shadow, the equivalent 1949 issues of Doc went for guide, 1.8x guide, and 2.5x guide.

2 issues of Eerie Mysteries fetched double guide, while the classic Apr 1938 issue of Horror Stories reached 7x guide, and the Oct 1938 issue 3x.

A scarce issue of Romantic Western brought only 50% guide.  But a pair of the relatively common Out of This World issues went for nearly double.  Mystery Adventure and New Mystery Adventure went for 1.5 - 2x guide.  Planet Stories #1 brought a 2.5 multiple.

A low-grade copy of the rare Real Spicy Horror Tales went for over 2x.  

Spicy Adventure was all over the place, ranging from guide to double guide.  A big exception was the #1 issue, which at over $10,000 was nearly 10x guide.  This is actually one of the more common issues in the run, and another reason I suspect a lot of newcomers may have been bidding... at first glance it appears this is a gory decapitation cover, and bidding may have been akin to what such covers bring in the comics world.  But seasoned pulp collectors know that with a closer look, the hapless male victim is simply being dragged by his neck, making the cover a bit less sensational than it seemed (though the bondage cover is certainly striking enough besides).

Spicy Detective ranged from guide to above guide, with higher grades more likely to bring multiples.

Spicy Mystery fared the best of the "Spicys", with many isues bringing 2x to 4x guide.  The classic Nov 1940 issue of Strange Detective went for 8x guide, while 3 issues of Strange Tales went for guide.  Terror Tales ranged from guide to 3x.

The main emphasis of the auction, however, was Weird Tales.  Most issues with HPL or REH went for 2x guide or above.  The "Dunwich Horror" issue (Apr '29) brought 6x.  The 1st Conan (Dec '32) went for 3x, as did the "Rogues in the House" issue (Jan '34).  The 1st Conan cover, a high-grade May '34 brought 2x, while the Dec '37 issue with classic Finlay cover reached 5x guide.

The most bizarre anomalies occurred in the WT results, again seeming evidence that there were some bids by folks not too familiar with the merchandise.  Latter-'30s WT are actually fairly common, and normally, 40s issues are not a big deal.  A May 1929 issue (nothing seemingly special about it, went for 10x guide!, while another innocuous Dec '30 issue hit 7x guide.  A common July 1939 issue featuring part of a posthumous Howard serial went for 7x guide.  Two others defy explanation (unless the auction result is a typo)... a May 1948 issue that I price at $75 went for $500, and a March 1941 issue valued at $40 sold for $1900!???

I didn't really look too much at lots, since it's difficult to know if certain issues were responsible for the bids, of whether they all averaged out.

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OtherEric

OtherEric

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2 hours ago, Bookery said:

 a pair of the relatively common Out of This World issues went for nearly double.

 

the Dec '37 issue with classic Finlay cover reached 5x guide.

Those OotW issues sound like they went somewhere between  what you have them at and what Overstreet has them at, one of the only pulps they list.  But that one I understand some of the confusion if there were crossover bidders from comics.

I think the Dec '37 Weird Tales is one of only two pulps I've ever bought just for the cover; I can easily see it being one of the first issues the comic crossover crowd latches on to.

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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16 hours ago, Bookery said:

Went through the auction results quickly, and here are some observations--

I get the feeling there were a lot of newcomers to pulp collecting involved in the auction (probably from the comics field) as there were certainly some anomalies.  Pulps prized by traditional pulp collectors were often dismissed.  Clayton Astoundings-- one of the mainstays of older pulp collections, didn't fare well, generally bringing at or below guide.  The Shadow, a cornerstone of many collections, was met with thrifty bidding.  The 1932 classic first-look at The Shadow went for 1/2 guide, the classic Nov15 1932 cover went for guide, and others went at or below guide, including the scarcer final 3 issues and the Shadow Annuals.  The exception was the famous skeleton-cover from Jan. 15 1933 -- it went for over 10x guide!

Unless it was Lovecraft or Howard, there was little interest in authors.  Burroughs issues of Amazing went for guide, while in Astounding the 1st app. of Eric Frank Russell went for 1/2 guide, the 1st app. of Robert A. Heinlein just slightly over guide, and the 1st app. of Theodore Sturgeon brought about 1/2 guide.  Though many Weird Tales soared, the 1st August Derleth reached only 2/3 guide, and the 1st app. of Quinn's Jules de Grandin went for about 1/2 guide.  The 1st app. of Dan Turner in Spicy Detective brought guide level.

But much of the auction drew very high bids.  Doc Savage fared much better than his fellow Shadow from Street & Smith.  It's hard to compare value precisely, but clearly the restored Doc #1 went well above any interpretation of guide value.  The 2nd and 3rd issues went for about 30% over guide, while the 4th issue went nearly double, and the 6th issue approx. 4x.  Unlike the final pulp-format issues of The Shadow, the equivalent 1949 issues of Doc went for guide, 1.8x guide, and 2.5x guide.

2 issues of Eerie Mysteries fetched double guide, while the classic Apr 1938 issue of Horror Stories reached 7x guide, and the Oct 1938 issue 3x.

A scarce issue of Romantic Western brought only 50% guide.  But a pair of the relatively common Out of This World issues went for nearly double.  Mystery Adventure and New Mystery Adventure went for 1.5 - 2x guide.  Planet Stories #1 brought a 2.5 multiple.

A low-grade copy of the rare Real Spicy Horror Tales went for over 2x.  

Spicy Adventure was all over the place, ranging from guide to double guide.  A big exception was the #1 issue, which at over $10,000 was nearly 10x guide.  This is actually one of the more common issues in the run, and another reason I suspect a lot of newcomers may have been bidding... at first glance it appears this is a gory decapitation cover, and bidding may have been akin to what such covers bring in the comics world.  But seasoned pulp collectors know that with a closer look, the hapless male victim is simply being dragged by his neck, making the cover a bit less sensational than it seemed (though the bondage cover is certainly striking enough besides).

Spicy Detective ranged from guide to above guide, with higher grades more likely to bring multiples.

Spicy Mystery fared the best of the "Spicys", with many isues bringing 2x to 4x guide.  The classic Nov 1940 issue of Strange Detective went for 8x guide, while 3 issues of Strange Tales went for guide.  Terror Tales ranged from guide to 3x.

The main emphasis of the auction, however, was Weird Tales.  Most issues with HPL or REH went for 2x guide or above.  The "Dunwich Horror" issue (Apr '29) brought 6x.  The 1st Conan (Dec '32) went for 3x, as did the "Rogues in the House" issue (Jan '34).  The 1st Conan cover, a high-grade May '34 brought 2x, while the Dec '37 issue with classic Finlay cover reached 5x guide.

The most bizarre anomalies occurred in the WT results, again seeming evidence that there were some bids by folks not too familiar with the merchandise.  Latter-'30s WT are actually fairly common, and normally, 40s issues are not a big deal.  A May 1929 issue (nothing seemingly special about it, went for 10x guide!, while another innocuous Dec '30 issue hit 7x guide.  A common July 1939 issue featuring part of a posthumous Howard serial went for 7x guide.  Two others defy explanation (unless the auction result is a typo)... a May 1948 issue that I price at $75 went for $500, and a March 1941 issue valued at $40 sold for $1900!???

I didn't really look too much at lots, since it's difficult to know if certain issues were responsible for the bids, of whether they all averaged out.

I for one, appreciate the time you took for this. I'm one of the newcomers and as you say, I'm Lovecraft and Howard driven... although I did snag that Sturgeon "low hanging fruit". Wish I could have purchased more, but for me this is still just a hobby. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)(thumbsu

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waaaghboss

waaaghboss

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 12/5/2020 at 12:32 AM, jimjum12 said:

I for one, appreciate the time you took for this. I'm one of the newcomers and as you say, I'm Lovecraft and Howard driven... although I did snag that Sturgeon "low hanging fruit". Wish I could have purchased more, but for me this is still just a hobby. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)(thumbsu

Same, I've only been dipping my toe in the pulp pool for a year or so,  and he's spot on about us newbies gravitating to weird tales.    

 

And planet stories.   I just won (and probably overpaid for) the first issue and am thinking of piecing together a vg run of the series.   What is a fair price for most of these in VG?

Edited by waaaghboss
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Northwest

Northwest

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On 12/17/2020 at 8:48 AM, waaaghboss said:

Same, I've only been dipping my toe in the pulp pool for a year or so,  and he's spot on about us newbies gravitating to weird tales.    

 

And planet stories.   I just won (and probably overpaid for) the first issue and am thinking of piecing together a vg run of the series.   What is a fair price for most of these in VG?

Pick up the @Bookery Guide to Pulps, 2nd Edition. It's a great reference

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Bookery

Bookery

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On 12/29/2022 at 11:47 PM, Ricksneatstuff said:

Bidding is now open for the 2023 January 26 Pulp Magazine Showcase Auction: Good Girl Art Featuring the Jack and Joanie Kump Collection

https://HA.com/40215a

This is the first of ten themed pulp showcase auctions.  
 

This is the first pulp auction I've seen devoted to some of the truly scarce items in the pulp world.  When my first guide came out (2001) I was uncertain whether the Feb and Mar 1929 issues of Cabaret even existed.  I later came across the Feb issue, and a short time later a Mar issue surfaced (I don't know if this is that same copy, or whether one or more copies have appeared since then).  Off the top of my head, other notable scarcities would include Artists & Models Stories, Honeymoon Stories, the Feb'37 Saucy Movie, Sex, Stage & Screen Stories, the July'33 Tattle Tales, and Zest.  Of course, as in comics, rarity doesn't always equate to demand... but it will be quite interesting to see how this auction does.

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FoggyNelson

FoggyNelson

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On 1/4/2023 at 3:16 AM, waaaghboss said:

Looks like a coverless oct 1912 all story is coming down the pike, as well as the Gorilla Zeppelin Stories  :x

1.thumb.jpg.eae54bf995f2e816e24d88d40c0f7e63.jpg

Wow that is awesome👍‼️

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