JERRY BAILS ORIGINAL ART COLLECTION

[tentpeg06]

Robert,

I am curious now that you have posted all this DC Silver Age OA. Who was Jerry Bails? Where did he reside? When did he buy most of this art? Looking at what you have posted, he focused heavily on the Infinite Earths tie in that molded the Golden Age with the Silver Age. I would be interested in reading about any biographical information that you can provide. Thank you.

 

Ciao!

PRC

[Robert Beerbohm]

Sorry to hear that. Gas prices are starting to have an impact I'm afraid.

I always look forward to seeing you and your inventory at the show and talking with you. I remember you bought a Top Notch # 9 from me last year. Hope San Diego is fun and profitable this year. I'm sure it will be.

Good Luck.

 

I set up at my first HeroesCon last year - had a hell of a great time meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones. Sold a lot of stuff there, bought even more to take to San Diego

 

That was a decent Top Notch 9 too, i always liked Black Hood, but i am also dealing with realities on the ground - and price of gas is definitely making an impact. When i get the van and trailor loaded, I haul two tons of stuff to a show - and get something like 9/10 miles per gallon

 

Factor 1700 miles one way to Charlotte NC, the math gets brutal

 

Re San Diego, i figure gas will be easily $1500 this year round trip, but i have been to every San Diego comicon since #1 way back in 1970,

 

but, one has to be realistic and not try for too many "Bridge Too Far" scenarios like this summer is going to bring for a great many Americans

[Robert Beerbohm]

Robert,

I am curious now that you have posted all this DC Silver Age OA. Who was Jerry Bails? Where did he reside? When did he buy most of this art? Looking at what you have posted, he focused heavily on the Infinite Earths tie in that molded the Golden Age with the Silver Age. I would be interested in reading about any biographical information that you can provide. Thank you.

 

Ciao!

PRC

 

For all those answers and more, go to CGC's GOLD section of these chat boards

 

Click on the thread JERRY'S ALL STARS

 

i have been posting a lot on Jerry Bails there, this is the fellow, if you could boil it down to one man, who started Comics Fandom back in early 1961

 

He got a lot of his art from the creators themselves back in the 1960s

 

Reading that thread over in GOLD at

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...part=1&vc=1

 

will teach any reader here a piece of our collective history

[Robert Beerbohm]

[Robert Beerbohm]

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...art=19&vc=1

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

aNY cOVERS??????????

 

sorry, all his covers went years ago. Long story. he owned JLA 21 cover since 1963

 

- i held it in my hands in his house, goose bumps, i tell you, RC Harvey & Maggie Thompson can attest to, the latter chastising me for picking up such an artifact. Never bothered Jerry, he encouraged me - we were good friends since the 60s.

 

Jerry once had one of the largest most comprehensive comic book original art collections the world will ever know - but only us old timers will probably appreciate that concept. Mind boggling comes to mind

 

When he began his Who's Who project (go to www.comics.org to view on-line version covering over 19,000 creators) back in the 1960s most of the Gold artists were still alive. Many of them had a few pages left over from "The Good Old Days" which they sold to Jerry - so, a LOT of what one knows to be in and around the market place these days, you can thank Jerry for ferreting it out way back when 40 years ago, keeping the art ID concepts intact as he went

 

I am going to post here soon a mind-boggling list of original art Jerry had for sale in 1968

 

- that is, if people want to see that kind of stuff on this list? I am telling you, i want to know wher esome of these peices are now - to double-check this list against what people have in their collections today (and reading this post, natch)

 

I will be putting it up this week end, have to scan it first

 

best

 

Robert Beerbohm

www.BLBcomics.com

eBay store: BLBcomics

[BILL-O-migration]

I rememer the JLA # 21 Cover...

 

discussed here:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...part=1&vc=1

[spider9698]

Probably the all-time ebay coup!!

[Robert Beerbohm]

One of the reasons i am having a shot maximizing the proceeds from this estate sale.

 

Two years before the JLA 21 cover by Anderson was posted on eBay at a $17K Buy It Now, i had told Jerry i had a client who offered $45 for it "any time"

 

- Jerry then handed that cover, an All Star cover from the 40s and 100 other pieces of art over to his oldest son who squandered the potential of that legacy without adequate research. Long story.

 

I got steamed at the time. The buyer got very very lucky. One of those once-in-a-lifetime lucky lottery shots.

 

It's the wonderful world of comics, folks

[Robert Beerbohm]

Note one Stan Lee pictured first panel from 1977 - a classic!!

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

I edit this with a message here in that i just noticed my digital shots make a whiter portion appear in the upper left corner and that darkening you see is my having altered the lighting - there is no darkening of the paper on these - my swiftly developing digital camera prowess under the spot light, so to speak

 

- I can take ones and probably will replace them a little later.

 

[Robert Beerbohm]

[dem1138]

One of the reasons i am having a shot maximizing the proceeds from this estate sale.

 

Two years before the JLA 21 cover by Anderson was posted on eBay at a $17K Buy It Now, i had told Jerry i had a client who offered $45 for it "any time"

 

- Jerry then handed that cover, an All Star cover from the 40s and 100 other pieces of art over to his oldest son who squandered the potential of that legacy without adequate research. Long story.

 

I got steamed at the time. The buyer got very very lucky. One of those once-in-a-lifetime lucky lottery shots.

 

It's the wonderful world of comics, folks

 

To put perspective on that story - ANYONE had a shot at paying 17K for that cover. It's not as if it showed up and Bechara pulled the trigger on it immediately. The cover sat on eBay with that Buy It Now for many hours while many people (participants and lurkers here included) contemplated its legitimacy. It was only because Bechara had been in the industry for so long and recognized the provenance that he have the gumption to pull the trigger. And kudos to Jerry's son for honoring the deal, because once it was gone, there were many people who attempted to offer the son much more for the cover and sabatoge the deal. It was an example of someone acting and being rewarded for it instead of talking about acting. I admire that fortitude.

 

Regardless, Robert, THANK YOU for sharing all of this art and please continue!

[spider9698]

If memory serves me right, people even doubted the veracity of the buyer since Bechara was using his wife's ebay account at the time. When people looked at the buyer's feedback it was for a bunch of maternity gear with no comic purchases. Ahhhh, what a story.

[Robert Beerbohm]

I agree, the buyer did nothing wrong, and got very lucky, and the sale was followed thru on

 

if i had known about it, i would surely have pulled the trigger immediately and figured out over the course of the "legal" eBay ten days time limit where to get the money

 

- would have been a no-brainer ending up with a partner on this one.

 

Thams dem and spider and every one else as i present Jerry Bails history here rather than else where cuz one can place the pics right in with the text of any given post

 

These threads and others like them are the fanzines of today

 

This is exactly what we did in those ditto & mimeo fanzines of the 1960s i participated in only thru an accident of birth. We talked and breathed comics, which is OK behavior now, twasn't back in the day - and the man who owned these pages started organized comics fandom back in March 1961

 

- I feel the Ghost of Jerry watching over me.

[Paratrooper]

I rememer the JLA # 21 Cover...

 

discussed here:

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/sho...part=1&vc=1

 

How do you "remember" (past tense) if you only just recently reged? MODS banned this tool.

[dem1138]

I agree, the buyer did nothing wrong, and got very lucky, and the sale was followed thru on

 

if i had known about it, i would surely have pulled the trigger immediately and figured out over the course of the "legal" eBay ten days time limit where to get the money

 

- would have been a no-brainer ending up with a partner on this one.

 

Thams dem and spider and every one else as i present Jerry Bails history here rather than else where cuz one can place the pics right in with the text of any given post

 

These threads and others like them are the fanzines of today

 

This is exactly what we did in those ditto & mimeo fanzines of the 1960s i participated in only thru an accident of birth. We talked and breathed comics, which is OK behavior now, twasn't back in the day - and the man who owned these pages started organized comics fandom back in March 1961

 

- I feel the Ghost of Jerry watching over me.

 

I will say, Robert, that I'm very glad that his legacy has been put in the hands of someone as appreciative of the legacy as yourself. Unfortunately, with greed being the prime motivator, often times these valuable items do not wind up in the "right" hands.

 

I look forward to you sharing that 1968 OA Catalogue! I'd love to get a complete photocopy of it myself!

[artdealer]

Robert,

 

When will you be pricing this art?

Mitch I.

[mrpunch0]

This is an area of OA (hell, even comics) which I have no experience with. It's all before my time (not to mention that I'm mainly a Marvel guy) ... but even I know that is some amazing stuff. REally wish you were setting up in Charlotte next week. I'd love to see this stuff in person!

 

Thanks for sharing the scans though!

[Robert Beerbohm]

Robert,

 

When will you be pricing this art?

Mitch I.

 

Hello Mitch,

I am still at the tail end of posting the pieces.

There will be 50 in toto when i get the final ones up here.

 

A number of folks have been contacting me re Jerry's estate pieces.

I am working on what will be best for the estate.

 

I am not adverse to having offers made on the entire batch. Singles, mixed itemized lots.

 

One thing, though, this is not going to be rushed as i analyze the scenario

 

best

 

robert B

[Robert Beerbohm]

Back in 1968, Jerry & Jean published their most giant catalog to date - it runs many pages but here, just for your edification, i am posting the original art section from it.

 

One thing crossed my addled brian, thouugh, is who owns any of the pages listed? would be fun to see what has circulated