The Cosmic Aeroplane Pedigree Thread 3 3

[skypinkblu]

@sagii

Thanks, Cory! I think this is the only other one I still have, or at least it's still on my spreadsheet. I loved the story about the pedigree.

 

[mwotka]

11 hours ago, Point Five said:

Amazing book! Off-topic, but I was just thinking the other day that I've seen a lot less Centaurs floating around in the past year. Are they just not coming up for sale as much (even compared to, say, Fox) or is it my imagination?

 

I have seen very few, and they have been going for quite a bit, even for beater copies.  I'm glad I got the ones I have when I did.  

[lou_fine]

1 hour ago, mwotka said:

13 hours ago, Point Five said:

Amazing book! Off-topic, but I was just thinking the other day that I've seen a lot less Centaurs floating around in the past year. Are they just not coming up for sale as much (even compared to, say, Fox) or is it my imagination?

 

I have seen very few, and they have been going for quite a bit, even for beater copies.  I'm glad I got the ones I have when I did.  

Well, since Jon Berk was one of the very few collectors here who had a complete Centaur run, virtually all of them came out (except for the very few he held back) into the marketplace in his big auction with CC back in the summer of 2017.  After that, some of the buyers probably took the opportunity to make a fast buck on them by flipping them back out into the marketplace, most likely after the usual CPR procedure had been done to the books.    

Likewise, the same thing happened when @G.A.tor had to unfortunately sell off his much treasured Centaur collection the other year when that nasty hurricane ripped through both his home and comic shop business the other year.  If not for that collosal disaster inflicted upon him by Mother Nature, I am sure that all of those Centaurs would still be in Rick's personal collection today and have never hit the marketplace.    

As a result, most of the Centaurs from thos 2 big collections have by now slowly worked their way through the marketplace over the past 2 years and we are probably back into the usual low low supply of Centaurs in terms of a small sprinkling into the marketplace here and there over time.    

[Robot Man]

I’ve been collecting comics for 50 years. I have actively looked for the secondary publishers. When everyone wanted DC and Timely, I looked for publishers like Ace, Nedor, MLJ and others. Centaurs have always been among the scarcest. Rarely ever saw them for sale. No matter how much money you have, it would be near impossible to put together another complete set. 

[Spyder!]

Recently picked up my first Cosmic Aeroplane.

[comicnoir]

[Professor K]

Hey everyone, I guess the time has come for me to stop keeping this between CGC and myself.  About a year ago I made contact through the innernet with the niece of the original owner of the Cosmic Aeroplane collection. I explained to her what they are and the basics of the Golden age. How most if not all of his comics have survived.  With her permission I connected her with the right folks at CGC. I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes by publically disclosing this information. Hopefully by now she given them more information than she gave me as I thought it best to instead of asking her many questions simply connect her with CGC. She seemed reluctant at first but a few days later she agreed to speak with CGC. I told her it would be nice if her uncle got the recognition he deserves for preserving all those comics. She also told me the owner of the bookstore at the time her mom sold the books is still alive and she is friends with him. 

His name was William Clark Holt Jr. and he was born in 1915 and left us in 1971. Resided in Salt Lake City Utah. His niece remembered the comics well and said he would go to the store every weekend and buy them. Later on after he stopped buying them they were stored in boxes in a basement until he passed away. Sometime not long after her mother, Uncle Bill's sister, sold them to the Cosmic Aeroplane bookstore in Salt Lake City. She told me he was not an art teacher. He joined the US Navy in March 1941 and was wounded at some point after (FDR looks pretty healthy in that photo so I assume he was wounded at some point prior to 1945 as FDR died in April 45).  He worked as a printer in Salt Lake City.  

Thank you Bill. I hope somehow you know your comics are still in good hands.

Edited April 19 by Professor K

[Jayman]

Fascinating stuff @Professor K!
My only CA book.

[october]

On 4/18/2024 at 4:14 PM, Professor K said:

She told me he was not an art teacher. He joined the US Navy in March 1941 and was wounded at some point after.  He worked as a printer

Interesting! Did she have any idea what the interior check marks and numbers/notations meant?

[plady69]

On 4/18/2024 at 6:50 PM, Jayman said:

Fascinating stuff @Professor K!
My only CA book.

Another reason I lurked here on the CGC boards. So much knowledge about our hobby.

[Ltpink2002]

[zzutak]

[Spyder!]

On 4/18/2024 at 2:14 PM, Professor K said:

Hey everyone, I guess the time has come for me to stop keeping this between CGC and myself.  About a year ago I made contact through the innernet with the niece of the original owner of the Cosmic Aeroplane collection. I explained to her what they are and the basics of the Golden age. How most if not all of his comics have survived.  With her permission I connected her with the right folks at CGC. I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes by publically disclosing this information. Hopefully by now she given them more information than she gave me as I thought it best to instead of asking her many questions simply connect her with CGC. She seemed reluctant at first but a few days later she agreed to speak with CGC. I told her it would be nice if her uncle got the recognition he deserves for preserving all those comics. She also told me the owner of the bookstore at the time her mom sold the books is still alive and she is friends with him. Apparently they never spoke of her uncle's comics because she had no idea what ever happened to them after they were sold to the bookstore. 

His name was William Clark Holt Jr. and he was born in 1915 and left us in 1971. Resided in Salt Lake City Utah. His niece remembered the comics well and said he would go to the store every weekend and buy them. Later on after he stopped buying them they were stored in boxes in a basement until he passed away. Sometime not long after her mother, Uncle Bill's sister, sold them to the Cosmic Aeroplane bookstore in Salt Lake City. She told me he was not an art teacher. He joined the US Navy in March 1941 and was wounded at some point after.  He worked as a printer in Salt Lake City.  

Thank you Bill. I hope somehow you know your comics are still in good hands.

Wow thanks so much for sharing!

[Robot Man]

Thanks for this. Always nice to put the person who put together these collections their rightful place in the hobby. 

[Professor K]

On 4/18/2024 at 6:56 PM, october said:

Interesting! Did she have any idea what the interior check marks and numbers/notations meant?

That's about the only detail that I did ask her about. I found her through her mother which of course was Uncle Bill's sister. I only had a first name to go from a family photo I found that had only first names in the little description underneath. In it was a teenage girl.  I figured that would be his niece but at that point I still wasn't sure I had the right guy. I couldnt find her last name for two reasons- Her father's last name wasn't Holt plus she was married by now. I gave up for a few months then I gave it one more shot and found her married name from a family members obituary from the 90's. From there it was easy. It was so cool to hear her initial response to my first message to her which confirmed I had the right man. "You've done your research well" she said. She was very nice but for all she knew I was some creepy scammer so I didn't want to ask her too many questions. 

To answer your question I asked her if her Uncle was an art teacher and she said no. I told her the books have check marks and lines written on many of the pages but she knew nothing about that. I read somewhere that there was tracing paper between the pages of the books at the time they were sold to the bookstore but I didn't think to ask her about that. 

From there I just put Mr. Nelson in contact with her and I haven't spoken to her since. I know he's spoken to her. I'm sure he'll let us know what more he found out soon. Mr. N if you're reading this I'm sorry I couldn't keep it inside any longer, I know you're a very busy guy especially this past year .

I'm pretty sure some people here thought the books did come from someone named W.C. Holt Jr. so it's not like I cracked the Tom Reilly mystery (which by the way I did quite a bit to find any record of Tom and came up empty over and over). I just used the internet for this. It wasn't anywhere near the effort for example member @Karen's Pages put in when researching the Okajima collection. 

  My one and only W.C. Holt Jr book

Edited April 19 by Professor K
spelling correction

[Professor K]

Our intial contact which I haven't read since last September (I had thought it was longer ago than that). 

Good morning Kevin, You have done well in your research! And I can confirm that my uncle, William Clark Holt, Jr. purchased those comic books and when he died, my mother decided to sell the comic books without doing any research on their value (our loss). My uncle had them 'stored' in the dusty basement in open ended wooden crates, and were packed in tightly which helped in their preservation. I'm just glad the mice didn't get to them-they lived on a farm in Salt Lake City. Another interesting 'twist' to this story is that the owner of the Cosmic Aeroplane Store (no longer in business) is a personal friend and his memory is very vivid when my mother sold the comic books to him. His house is like a museum filled to the brim with books of all kinds, rock band posters from the 60's and 70's, collectectable items and more. What do you need from me to help confirm the original ownership of these comic books?

[adamstrange]

On 4/18/2024 at 11:11 PM, Professor K said:

From there I just put Mr. Nelson in contact with her and I haven't spoken to her since. I know he's spoken to her. I'm sure he'll let us know what more he found out soon. Mr. N if you're reading this I'm sorry I couldn't keep it inside any longer, I know you're a very busy guy especially this past year .

This is awesome work on your part.  You done good!

I'm not sure it is a good idea to wait on someone who is 20 years behind getting out a book on pedigrees.  You, or someone, should reach out to her and follow up with any questions while that is still a possibility.

[Professor K]

On 4/18/2024 at 11:43 PM, adamstrange said:

This is awesome work on your part.  You done good!

I'm not sure it is a good idea to wait on someone who is 20 years behind getting out a book on pedigrees.  You, or someone, should reach out to her and follow up with any questions while that is still a possibility.

Thanks. Well I would speak to him again before I do that, see where he's at with it all. If I do I would love to first hear about what I should ask her about them from all you guys and girls. Everyone tell me what I should ask about please. 

Edit: Can anyone confirm if there is a break in the collection from around early 1941 to whenever he returned home from the war? 

Edited April 19 by Professor K

[Spyder!]

On 4/18/2024 at 8:11 PM, Professor K said:

That's about the only detail that I did ask her about. I found her through her mother which of course was Uncle Bill's sister. I only had a first name to go from a family photo I found that had only first names in the little description underneath. In it was a teenage girl.  I figured that would be his niece but at that point I still wasn't sure I had the right guy. I couldnt find her last name for two reasons- Her father's last name wasn't Holt plus she was married by now. I gave up for a few months then I gave it one more shot and found her married name from a family members obituary from the 90's. From there it was easy. It was so cool to hear her initial response to my first message to her which confirmed I had the right man. "You've done your research well" she said. She was very nice but for all she knew I was some creepy scammer so I didn't want to ask her too many questions. 

To answer your question I asked her if her Uncle was an art teacher and she said no. I told her the books have check marks and lines written on many of the pages but she knew nothing about that. I read somewhere that there was tracing paper between the pages of the books at the time they were sold to the bookstore but I didn't think to ask her about that. 

From there I just put Mr. Nelson in contact with her and I haven't spoken to her since. I know he's spoken to her. I'm sure he'll let us know what more he found out soon. Mr. N if you're reading this I'm sorry I couldn't keep it inside any longer, I know you're a very busy guy especially this past year .

I'm pretty sure some people here thought the books did come from someone named W.C. Holt Jr. so it's not like I cracked the Tom Reilly mystery (which by the way I did quite a bit to find any record of Tom and came up empty over and over). I just used the internet for this. It wasn't anywhere near the effort for example member @Karen's Pages put in when researching the Okajima collection. 

  My one and only W.C. Holt Jr book

Wow one of the best Marvel Mystery covers! 

[Telegan]

On 4/18/2024 at 4:14 PM, Professor K said:

Hey everyone, I guess the time has come for me to stop keeping this between CGC and myself.  About a year ago I made contact through the innernet with the niece of the original owner of the Cosmic Aeroplane collection. I explained to her what they are and the basics of the Golden age. How most if not all of his comics have survived.  With her permission I connected her with the right folks at CGC. I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes by publically disclosing this information. Hopefully by now she given them more information than she gave me as I thought it best to instead of asking her many questions simply connect her with CGC. She seemed reluctant at first but a few days later she agreed to speak with CGC. I told her it would be nice if her uncle got the recognition he deserves for preserving all those comics. She also told me the owner of the bookstore at the time her mom sold the books is still alive and she is friends with him. 

His name was William Clark Holt Jr. and he was born in 1915 and left us in 1971. Resided in Salt Lake City Utah. His niece remembered the comics well and said he would go to the store every weekend and buy them. Later on after he stopped buying them they were stored in boxes in a basement until he passed away. Sometime not long after her mother, Uncle Bill's sister, sold them to the Cosmic Aeroplane bookstore in Salt Lake City. She told me he was not an art teacher. He joined the US Navy in March 1941 and was wounded at some point after (FDR looks pretty healthy in that photo so I assume he was wounded at some point prior to 1945 as FDR died in April 45).  He worked as a printer in Salt Lake City.  

Thank you Bill. I hope somehow you know your comics are still in good hands.

 

Now that's awesome!  I love stuff like this - it's like finding a treasure or something!