In the shortening days of November a super hero charges in to raise the spirits of book collectors everywhere. This is not the rodent of Orlando and Anaheim, thank you. Mickey is in fact out of his league on this one. What prompts this article is a first printing of the comic book character that has become the enduring metaphor of the modern age, Surhomme if you prefer the French, Superhombre if you speak Spanish or Supermees if you think in Estonian. This is of course Superman in his initial appearance in 1938, lunging purposefully into a page-turning future where movie producers, over sherry, imagine predicaments, risks and dangers to test his mettle, where every man hopes to be him and every woman to be married to him. This super hero, seventy-three years since he flowed from the pen and brush of Siegel and Shuster, and without a bump or blemish, continues to fire imaginations and author metaphors for the human experience. This is a first appearance of S in print and an exceptional example of the first printing. It was sold at auction on November 30th by Comic Connect and did quite well, in fact better than any other printed item during the month. It brought $2,161000.
Of the first appearance in print, an unknown quantity, but estimated to be about 10,000 copies, were printed. That today a pristine copy of a 20th century comic book sells for more than two million dollars tells you what resonates with new collectors. One under thirty collector, when asked about the price quickly confirmed “Superman is ours” referring to his generation. And I was left to think the Civil War, the War of 1812 and Revolution are ours. We who look over the horizon at the distant past can miss the visceral excitement that powers the emerging generation of collectors and their thirst for the icons that inform their era. They buy what matters to them. We, of the older style, search for meaning, the current generation, in this case, for a symbol.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
