"From the collection of" does it count as File Copy / Pedigree? 0

[Sauce Dog]

I'm curious what the current stance is on books that carry the label "From the collection of [someones name here]" when it relates to a person that was in the comic industry and not just an outside collector / celebrity?

I have seen books that were 'From the collection of Harlan Ellison" end up getting classified as File Copies, so I'm curious if that holds true for other comic legends that built collections of everything coming out (I specifically would love to know if my "From the Collection of Doug Moench" counts as a File Copy)

 

Thanks!

[CrystalM CS]

Hello! do you have any certification numbers for the books in question? This would help greatly in researching your question. Thank you!

[Sauce Dog]

There are many examples of creatives like Doug Moench having books labeled from his collection (such as 1572150007 )

So my main question is what is the difference that distinguishes a comic book creators personal collection and them collecting and it being regarded as a file copy (for example, 2121050003, which you can find was discussed in a previous thread. It was from Ellisons collection, also a Tales of Suspense book like this one from Doug, which the COA did not deem a file copy, but CGC does recognize as such: https://boards.cgccomics.com/topic/470027-file-copy/ ) 

 

[Sauce Dog]

On 8/29/2022 at 10:44 AM, Ba'al said:

Anyone can (or could?) get a "from the collection of" label if you spend enough money with CGC. Like Dallas Stephens or Stan Lee's tailor.

Yup, which is why my question was specifically about those who actually worked in the comic industry, like Harlan Ellison and Doug Moench, who put together collections of books and some of which (but not all) are regarded as File Copies.

[CrystalM CS]

Hello!

This is an excellent question. Not all Pedigree books that come from industry names are considered File Copies.  A “File Copy” is not an alternate cover or some rare printing of a specific comic, but instead, a designation indicating that the comic you’re looking at was stored away in a filing cabinet rather than sent out to a newsstand and bought by a customer.

[McRib]

the "from the Collection of" titles are extremely rare, and I can say that in the case of Doug Moench, he kept 2-3 copies of every one of his books when they were published, until such time a few years ago when he decided to let CGC and their certified agents go through his personal collection that he kept in his home and certify them as such.

[Sauce Dog]

On 8/30/2022 at 11:18 AM, CMatthews said:

Hello!

This is an excellent question. Not all Pedigree books that come from industry names are considered File Copies.  A “File Copy” is not an alternate cover or some rare printing of a specific comic, but instead, a designation indicating that the comic you’re looking at was stored away in a filing cabinet rather than sent out to a newsstand and bought by a customer.

Thanks for the reply, but this still does not make sense to me. Many of the Harlan Ellison "File Copies" were books he never worked on and personally bought from newsstands as a customer. You can see he bought many other books (for example those being collected in this set https://comics.www.collectors-society.com/registry/comics/PeopleSetDetail.aspx?PeopleSetID=67060 )

So my question still remains, why can a book purchased by Ellison and then filed away get a File Copy designation, but a book purchased by Doug Moench and files away not receive such a designation? (books that neither of them worked on) I'm effectively looking to 'name the trait' that separates these two examples. Both are from comic writers, both bought Tales of Suspense books they never worked on, both filed away their comics, both had their collections recognized by CGC...but only one gets File Copy designation?

Harlan Books (all file copies and designated with 'from the collection of Harlan Ellison. Also note 'Harlan Ellison Collection' isn't technically a recognized Pedigree and does not appear in CGCs own pedigree page https://www.cgccomics.com/resources/pedigree/):

But then we have books 'From the Collection of Doug Moench" that...don't count as file copies or appear as their own pedigree line

Edited September 1, 2022 by Sauce Dog

[CrystalM CS]

Hello again!

I believe this question may be better answered by one of our internal staff and I have messaged them the information. I will post their answer as soon as possible. We do appreciate your patience!

[CrystalM CS]

Hello again. Here is the response I received from our Graders. Please let us know if you have additional questions.

1. Pedigree – original owner collection, high grade, contains significant books
2. Provenance –collection from a person of significance (famous person-Nicolas Cage, creator-Harlan Ellison, or major comic collector-Jon Berk). Collections from famous people or creators may not necessarily be high grade or significant, but the person is. In the case of a major collector provenance, the books are not original owner, but are of significant grade/value.
3. File Copy -  mostly applies to large warehouse finds from publishers, like Random House, Dell, Harvey and Poughkeepsie. Even though they are usually high grade and originate from one source, they are not considered pedigrees because they usually encompass large multiples of issues that are not that significant.

There are a couple of pedigrees that are technically file copies, like Gaines File Copy and Crowley. But in both cases the collections contained high grade comics of significance, and both surfaced and were accepted as pedigrees before CGC opened in 2000.

 

In the email he refers to the Harlan Ellison copies as “file copies” but they are not identified as such. I found an inquiry on the boards that he is probably referring to, and this appears to be a grader mistake. We should have labeled that book “From the collection of Harlan Ellison”.

 

https://boards.cgccomics.com/topic/469954-file-copy/

[Engr62]

"Collections from famous people or creators may not necessarily be high grade or significant, but the person is."

I don't know that Nicolas Cage is either "high grade" or "significant."