antiquesandauctionnews.net
ANTIQUES NEWS, P.O.BOX 500 MOUNT JOY, 17552 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENGLE PUBLISHING CO.
FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 • VOL. 51, NO. 28
A New Golden Age For Comics And Comic Art As Sale Hits World-Record $22.4 Million
Brandywine River Museum Of Art Reopens
Original Covers, Promise Collection Pedigree And Modern Titles Demolish Historic Record Set Two Months Ago
Special New Exhibition Is “Ralston Crawford: Air And Space And War”
Another Comics and Comic Art event has come to an end at Heritage Auctions. And yet another world record has been set: a $22.4million sale abundant with historic high points. Two months ago, Heritage’s April auction of comic books and original comic art surpassed the $16.5-million mark, now obliterated by the success of the June 17, 18, and 19 event. Nearly 5,800 bidders from around the globe participated in the market-resetting sellout affair, which marked the debut of the Promise Collection Pedigree featuring some 5,000 Golden Age books not seen since they were bought off newsstands in the 1940s.“I remember when we were thrilled to have $15 million in comic and comic art sales for an entire year,” says Heritage Auctions Vice President Barry Sandoval. “And this was more than $22 million in just three days.” Indeed, over the span of just four hours, 181 books from the Promise Collection sold for a total of $7.1 million, a staggering sum that made it among the most expensive collections ever sold, even before 93 more books hit the block day three to raise the weekend’s Promise Collection total to $7.9 million. And there are still more than 4,700 books from the collection left to auction throughout 2021 and well into 2022. On session one alone, more than $5.9 million was realized. In just one hour. The kickoff was led by a Dark Knight having a very good day. A copy of Detective Comics No.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art reopened to the public on June 20 with a new special exhibition, “Ralston Crawford: Air and Space and War.” During its temporary closure, the museum underwent several facility renovations to the second and third floors, including a complete refurbishment of the restrooms on the second floor, making them fully ADA accessible, as well as switching their current location with the Strawbridge Family Gallery, which will soon open to the public later this summer. Opening into the museum’s central atrium, the reimagined gallery, complete with new stateof-the-art lighting, will improve circulation within the building, enhancing the visitor experience. Additionally, the museum’s other galleries have been refreshed with paint and rehung with a new selection of recent acquisitions and loans, as well as rarely seen works from the permanent collection. On view through Sept. 19,
This copy of Detective Comics No. 27, graded CGC VG/FN 5.0, sold for $1.125 million. 27 graded CGC VG/FN 5.0 sold for $1.125 million, not so far removed from the record realized in November when Heritage sold a Detective No. 27 graded FN/VF 7.0 for $1.5 million. In any another sale, that 5.0
History was also made when “the most supernatural superhero of all” rode off with the title of the most expensive comic book of the 1970s. Ghost Rider’s debut in 1972’s Marvel Spotlight No. 5 sold for $264,000.
Detective would have been the headline, but Batman’s debut was overshadowed by two record-shattering lots. Wally Wood’s cover for 1952’s Shock SuspenStories No. 6 sold for $840,000 to claim its new title as most expensive work of
Continued on page 2
original American comic book cover art. This should not surprise, as the cover is the most iconic published during the influential 12-year run of EC Comics. As Sandoval said when introducing the cover at the sale, Continued on page 2
Seashore Sales Display At Haddon Heights Most of us who grew up in the Mid-Atlantic have fond memories of days at the seashore, soaking up the sun or having fun on the boardwalk. For a heaping helping of nostalgia, check out the latest special sales display at the Haddon Heights Antiques Center. There are antique postcards and vintage souvenirs of famous resort towns along the Jersey coast. It might be a porcelain plate or mug or a felt pennant from Atlantic City, Wildwood or Cape May. Shoppers will also find more generic vintage and decorative items with a seashore motif such as shells or seahorses, fish or mermaids. Beach gear such as antique sand pails and shovels, straw hats,
sunglasses, and vintage bathing attire is also on display (and for sale). The Haddon Heights Antiques Center is a great place to go on a hot summer day when a trip to the shore isn’t possible. Shoppers can be in air-conditioned comfort on two floors filled with a wide variety of antique and vintage items from dozens of different dealers. The shop is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located at 531 Clements Bridge Road in Barrington, N.J., it is conveniently located just off the White Horse Pike and either Exit 29 or 29B of I-295. For additional information, call 856-546-0555.
Ralston Crawford’s (1906-78) “Test Able, 1946” is an oil-on-canvas, 23 5/8-by-17 5/8 inches, courtesy of the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Eva Underhill Holbrook Memorial Collection of American Art, Gift of Alfred H. Holbrook, GMOA 1946.140.
In This Issue SHOPS, SHOWS & MARKETS . . . . . . . . . . starting on page 3 SHOPS DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . on page 5 EVENT & AUCTION CALENDAR . on page 7 AUCTION SALE BILLS . . . starting on page 7
FEATURE RESULTS: Neue Auctions’ Modernism Sale - May 15 - Page 6
AUCTIONEER DIRECTORY . . . . . on page 7 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . on page 11