September Heritage Auction

[RareHighGrade]

Does anyone know whether the McLaughlin books are being auctioned without reserves?

[tth2]

Does anyone know whether the McLaughlin books are being auctioned without reserves?

I seem to recall reading in one of Heritage's announcements that the McLaughlin family didn't want to pay for slabbing and didn't want reserves.

[tth2]

Having now gone through the auction in its entirety, I have to say that the collection does really reinforce that Edgar Church bought every comic under the sun. There is some seriously obscure and lower tier stuff in there.

 

One thing that occurred to me, and I don't know that anyone has ever talked about it, is the fact that we completely take it for granted that Edgar had access to such a huge inventory of new comics. Doesn't it seem amazing that his local drugstore in Boulder, which is not exactly the cross-roads of America (particularly in the 1930s & 40s), apparently received such a huge and comprehensive selection of comics during this period.

 

I can only draw upon my own experience in the 1970s, before dedicated comic book stores became prevalent. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a drug store or other general store that stocked such a huge selection of comics. Maybe a few spinner racks or a few shelves next to the magazines. What Edgar had access to would be the 70s equivalent of a drug store stocking every Marvel, DC, Charlton, Gold Key, Harvey, Fawcett and Archie title, and I'm probably overlooking a few publishers from the 1970s. Did anyone have a local store that was so comprehensive in their inventory? Keep in mind also that the selection of titles and publishers in the 1970s paled compared to what was available in the 1940s!

 

Thoughts?

[esquirecomics]

Having now gone through the auction in its entirety, I have to say that the collection does really reinforce that Edgar Church bought every comic under the sun. There is some seriously obscure and lower tier stuff in there.

 

One thing that occurred to me, and I don't know that anyone has ever talked about it, is the fact that we completely take it for granted that Edgar had access to such a huge inventory of new comics. Doesn't it seem amazing that his local drugstore in Boulder, which is not exactly the cross-roads of America (particularly in the 1930s & 40s), apparently received such a huge and comprehensive selection of comics during this period.

 

I can only draw upon my own experience in the 1970s, before dedicated comic book stores became prevalent. I don't seem to recall ever seeing a drug store or other general store that stocked such a huge selection of comics. Maybe a few spinner racks or a few shelves next to the magazines. What Edgar had access to would be the 70s equivalent of a drug store stocking every Marvel, DC, Charlton, Gold Key, Harvey, Fawcett and Archie title, and I'm probably overlooking a few publishers from the 1970s. Did anyone have a local store that was so comprehensive in their inventory? Keep in mind also that the selection of titles and publishers in the 1970s paled compared to what was available in the 1940s!

 

Thoughts?

 

An interesting thought to ponder. Having grown up when you did my experiences are the same. The only thing I can initially offer is that if you look at the photos some have posted in this section from the 1940s it does appear that the diversity of titles at drugstores (or wherever) was more prevalent. Of course, I don't know where those stores in the photos were located and that also could be a factor.

 

This would appear to be a question for DR. BLUMBERG!

[drbanner]

One thing that occurred to me, and I don't know that anyone has ever talked about it, is the fact that we completely take it for granted that Edgar had access to such a huge inventory of new comics. Doesn't it seem amazing that his local drugstore in Boulder, which is not exactly the cross-roads of America (particularly in the 1930s & 40s), apparently received such a huge and comprehensive selection of comics during this period.

 

My dad still has some of his childhood comic books from the late 40's/early 50's (mostly photo cover westerns and Four Colors). When I show him my GA Timely's and other esoteric books, he looks at them like they're from Pluto and says "They didn't have those where I bought my comics." I suspect all those vintage comic rack pictures with dozens of titles represented were taken in NYC, Chicago, etc.,.

[tth2]

One thing that occurred to me, and I don't know that anyone has ever talked about it, is the fact that we completely take it for granted that Edgar had access to such a huge inventory of new comics. Doesn't it seem amazing that his local drugstore in Boulder, which is not exactly the cross-roads of America (particularly in the 1930s & 40s), apparently received such a huge and comprehensive selection of comics during this period.

 

My dad still has some of his childhood comic books from the late 40's/early 50's (mostly photo cover westerns and Four Colors). When I show him my GA Timely's and other esoteric books, he looks at them like they're from Pluto and says "They didn't have those where I bought my comics." I suspect all those vintage comic rack pictures with dozens of titles represented were taken in NYC, Chicago, etc.,.

Exactly. So how was it that there was this magical drug store in a little town in Colorado that had EVERYTHING? And the proprietor was sufficiently on the ball that he always ordered all the offerings of new titles, and was in the distribution channel for every new publisher?

[LonAllen-migration]

Mr. Church was an adult when he purchased all of these comics. He could have either driven to multiple newstands, or just asked the owner of the newstand to order them all for him.

[adamstrange]

Mr. Church was an adult when he purchased all of these comics. He could have either driven to multiple newstands, or just asked the owner of the newstand to order them all for him.

 

Perhaps. But the distributor marks of the early books indicate the number of copies delivered to that newstand and most of the Church books have a number greater than 1. Clearly, the drugstore was selling a lot of comics.

[LonAllen-migration]

P.S.

Also, and correct me if I'm wrong (and I'm sure you guys will), but the Edgar Church collection originated from Denver, not Boulder. Chuck had his shop in Boulder. Denver was no Chicago in 1937-1955, but it was not the cow-town Boulder was.

[rjpb]

Well it wasn't exactly the boondocks, but it wasn't a major metropolitan area either - In the early 70s in suburban Columbus Ohio there was a drug store that seemed to carry just about everrything - though I think only 1 or 2 copies of some of the Charlton titles. There was also a Soda Shop closer to OSU that carried everything - including all those obscure B/W horror mags.

[tth2]

Mr. Church was an adult when he purchased all of these comics. He could have either driven to multiple newstands, or just asked the owner of the newstand to order them all for him.

 

Perhaps. But the distributor marks of the early books indicate the number of copies delivered to that newstand and most of the Church books have a number greater than 1. Clearly, the drugstore was selling a lot of comics.

Hey Lon, thanks for participating.

 

Adam makes a good point. In addition, even if Edgar asked the newsstands/drug stores to order a copy of everything for him, would the owner be willing to stock titles in really low quantities, and just as importantly, would the distributors have been willing to send them any copies of a title at all if the order was just for a couple of copies?

 

I guess what I'm saying in all this is that there's been an unsung hero in the Church collection saga, and that's the store owner who ordered and stocked all those different titles for Edgar.

[nearmint]

I guess what I'm saying in all this is that there's been an unsung hero in the Church collection saga, and that's the store owner who ordered and stocked all those different titles for Edgar.

 

Maybe that store owner also collected every issue of every title, and they're all still sitting in HIS basement in Denver.

[tth2]

I guess what I'm saying in all this is that there's been an unsung hero in the Church collection saga, and that's the store owner who ordered and stocked all those different titles for Edgar.

 

Maybe that store owner also collected every issue of every title, and they're all still sitting in HIS basement in Denver.

And of course he got first dibs, so Edgar always ended up with the lesser copies!

[Bronty]

Having now gone through the auction in its entirety, I have to say that the collection does really reinforce that Edgar Church bought every comic under the sun. There is some seriously obscure and lower tier stuff in there.

 

 

and to me that reinforces the idea that most of the funny animal was already thrown out before chuckles arrived. All those obscure books yet only a few major funny animal titles?

[Aman619]

Its not hard for me to believe that there was one store in all of Denver AND Boulder that carried everything, just lik ethe awesome photos we've seen. Unless we conclude there been some kind of weird explanation for Churchs massive collection, we have to believe he bought them nearby just as we have always thought.

 

but it IS an interesting thought! TTH2 gets a no-prize!

[skybolt]

Its not hard for me to believe that there was one store in all of Denver AND Boulder that carried everything, just lik ethe awesome photos we've seen. Unless we conclude there been some kind of weird explanation for Churchs massive collection, we have to believe he bought them nearby just as we have always thought.

 

but it IS an interesting thought! TTH2 gets a no-prize!

 

The real explanation is that Edgar Church was a time traveler. He noticed the exuberant prices being paid for comics today, and went back in time to collect the best copies of every single golden age book from various cities. Unfortunately, the time travelling experience affected his memory and he was never able to figure out why he was collecting and storing all these copies in pristine condition in the first place.

 

In the meantime, another time traveller (Chuck) decided to take the easier route and let Edgar do all his dirty work. Of course, since only the body could be transported through time, Chuck could not bring any money with him. This explains why he had to borrow the 2 grand for the collection.

 

And before anyone says anything, I'll do it myself!

[tth2]

Its not hard for me to believe that there was one store in all of Denver AND Boulder that carried everything, just lik ethe awesome photos we've seen. Unless we conclude there been some kind of weird explanation for Churchs massive collection, we have to believe he bought them nearby just as we have always thought.

 

but it IS an interesting thought! TTH2 gets a no-prize!

 

The real explanation is that Edgar Church was a time traveler. He noticed the exuberant prices being paid for comics today, and went back in time to collect the best copies of every single golden age book from various cities. Unfortunately, the time travelling experience affected his memory and he was never able to figure out why he was collecting and storing all these copies in pristine condition in the first place.

 

In the meantime, another time traveller (Chuck) decided to take the easier route and let Edgar do all his dirty work. Of course, since only the body could be transported through time, Chuck could not bring any money with him. This explains why he had to borrow the 2 grand for the collection.

 

And before anyone says anything, I'll do it myself!

Works for me! I especially love the explanation of why Chuck didn`t have the $2000!

[skybolt]

Its not hard for me to believe that there was one store in all of Denver AND Boulder that carried everything, just lik ethe awesome photos we've seen. Unless we conclude there been some kind of weird explanation for Churchs massive collection, we have to believe he bought them nearby just as we have always thought.

 

but it IS an interesting thought! TTH2 gets a no-prize!

 

The real explanation is that Edgar Church was a time traveler. He noticed the exuberant prices being paid for comics today, and went back in time to collect the best copies of every single golden age book from various cities. Unfortunately, the time travelling experience affected his memory and he was never able to figure out why he was collecting and storing all these copies in pristine condition in the first place.

 

In the meantime, another time traveller (Chuck) decided to take the easier route and let Edgar do all his dirty work. Of course, since only the body could be transported through time, Chuck could not bring any money with him. This explains why he had to borrow the 2 grand for the collection.

 

And before anyone says anything, I'll do it myself!

Works for me! I especially love the explanation of why Chuck didn`t have the $2000!

 

My other theory is that during Edgar's initial time travelling experience, the neighborhood cat jumped onto the machinery and caused the time device to malfunction. Edgar lost all his memory of the incident, but subconsciously always hated animals and anything related to them.

 

Now if Chuck is a time traveller from the year 2065 or whenever, then maybe he's on to something with the Native American pottery thing.

[Timulty]

Okay, here is what I know from living in the mid-west in late 70's to present. Up until about 88 or 89 most of the smaller cities were unchanged. When I talked to the guy who used to run a drug store in the 40's and 50's about comics, he said that he was able to have a wide array of titles because they there was very little for kids to do. Except farm work, school, comics and the occasional picture show. OT-Which, by the way, was often times provided by a a traveling theater of sorts(guy with a projector and the movies). Later on(late 50's to 60's) they built a drive in then the regular theater. So, not surprising to me that Denver would have enough demand for comics at that time. Eventhough, the kids might have more to do.

[TomG]

One thing to keep in mind in regards to the Church collection is that many of the1930s comics came from a second hand store called the Reader's Guild. The books Edgar Church purchased secondhand can be identified by two slash marks in the upper left hand corner. The copy of Detective Comics #27 is one example of the comics that Church purchased second hand.