UPDATED: My Nominee for the "First Great Comic Collector" 12 12

[sfcityduck]

Over on Comics General we've been discussing the topic of who the "First Great Comic Collector" might be.  The quick, and obvious, answer people throw out is Edgar Church.  And if the question were what is the "Greatest Comic Collection," I'd have to answer that it was Church's collection.  But, for me, a "Great Collector" is defined by more than just having a "Great Collection."  

There are a number of factors that I think should be taken into consideration when evaluating if a person is deserving of the designation as a truly "Great collector" (as opposed to merely having a "great collection").  Very few people, if anyone, will tick every box; however, I don't think you need to tick every box to be considered a truly "Great collector."   The factors that I think should be considered include the following (and this is not an exhaustive list):

• The extent of the person's enthusiasm and love of comics and collecting;
• The length of time the person collected comics;
• The breadth of the the person's comic collection;
• The quality of the person's comic collection;
• Whether the person has sought out comic book back issues to fill in gaps in their collection, as opposed to just buying comics off the stands;
• Whether the person has engaged in comic collecting strategies which go beyond just the normal for comic collectors (normal being buying new off the stand and buying back issues from bookstores);
• Whether the person deals comics;
• Whether the person has been a market maker;
• Whether the person has taken the next step to collect original art;
• Whether the person has shown the enthusiasm to take advantage of publisher sponsored fan interaction opportunities (e.g. letters to the editors, joining publisher sponsored fan groups like Sentinels of Liberty or Supermen of America, entering contests, etc.);
• Whether the person has directly communicated with comic creators (artists, writers, editors) or publishers;
• Whether the person has created or availed themselves of opportunities to interact with other fans (fanzines, adzines, conventions, networking);
• Whether the person has gained a significant depth of knowledge about the comics they buy (first appearances, creators, importance to comic history);
• Whether the person has gained a significant depth of knowledge about the comic business;
• Whether the person has shared their knowledge with other comic collectors;
• Whether the person has advocated in favor of comics and/or comic collecting;
• Whether the person has authored articles on comics or comic collecting;
• Whether the person has created or published amateur comics;
• Whether the person has attempted to or become a professional comic creator; and
• Whether the person has done other acts to further comics or comic collecting (a catch-all).

I believe that there are a fair number of folks who were active in the early 1960s who legitimately have earned the mantle of "Great Comic Collector."  These include the fathers and mothers of modern comic fandom like Don & Maggie Thompson, Jerry Bails, Biljo White, and many others.  The deeper you get into the 1960s and 1970s, the more folks you can find who tick enough boxes to legitimately deserve the accolade, probably because as fandom grew the opportunities for making meaningful contributions to comic collecting increased.

But, I can only think of one collector who ticks enough boxes to have deserved that title in the 1940s.  

In this thread, I'm going to tell his story.  By the end of my telling, you may agree or disagree that he was the "First Great Comic Collector," either of which is fine by me.  My hope is that you'll come away from this thread with new information about this collector, and a greater appreciation of his collecting accomplishments.

Edited October 1, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

So who is my nominee for the title of the "First Great Comic Collector"?

Before I say, a quick digression.  

Not so long ago I sought out and bought a 45 record from 1956.  I was ecstatic to get this record because the singer, Dave Jay, had written on the label:

"You've never heard of me - But you will!"

I was ecstatic to get this record because that sentence sums up one of the themes of the research I was doing into my nominee for the "First Great Comic Collector."  

Especially because Dave Jay is that comic collector.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

"Wait!," you say, "how can 'Dave Jay' be the 'First Great Comic Collector' when I've never heard of him?"

Easily answered, my friends.

"Dave Jay" is not this collector's real name.  It is just one of many nom de plume's (or it is aka's) used by this collector.  He was known by more names than some western bank robbers.

Indeed, as far as I can tell, he never appears to have used his real name.  The only time I've seen it was on his birth announcement and on his obituary.

His real name was "Sidney."

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[PeterPark]

[sfcityduck]

So here is a picture of Sidney David Wigransky, Jr., sitting in the comic book room he had in his parent's house in Washington, D.C.  At the time, his comic room housed around 5,000 to 6,000 comics or so, most of which he had bought off the stand.  This picture was taken in July of 1948:

There's a lot to learn from this photo.  

First, take a look at the easily identifiable comics.  They span in time from 1935 to 1948.  They cover a wide array of genres.  They are:

 * Famous Funnies 17 (Dec. 1935)

 * Whiz 15 (March 1941)

 * Stuntman 1 (April/May 1946)

 * True Crime Comics vol. 1, no. 2 (May 1947)

 * Powerhouse Pepper 2 (Spring 1948)

 * Two Gun Kid 1 (March 1948)

Second, look at the comic storage.  All of his comics are very neatly stacked and separated in their respective cubes.  Clearly, they are organized.  And this guy had a frigging comic book room in 1948!

Third, look at the comics themselves.  These aren't comics "showing too much love."  Instead, they are flat (unless "newsstand fresh"), with square corners, and aren't showing rips or creases.  

Fourth, look at him.  He's relatively young.  Only 14.  Yet, he is holding a copy of a comic from 1935 (13 years old) that is in really nice shape!  He clearly was not only pursuing back issues, he was pursuing really nice looking back issues!

In sum, this guy was a serious collector, with a serious collection, being kept in great shape.

Oh ... one other thing, the photo is obviously a professional photo.  This collector had already, at his obvious young age achieved a degree of fame that the news media was photographing him.  

As a point of fact, he was being photographed in connection with an article he'd written about comic collecting for a national publication (more on that later). 

The name "Sidney David Wigransky, Jr." still not ringing any bells?  Well, at that point in his life, he tended to go by the name "David Pace Wigransky," and that's the name under which he wrote the article for the national publication.

From now on, we'll call him "Dave."  

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

But, the article in the national publication is not the first time that the name "David Pace Wigransky" popped up in connection with the comic book world.  

The first such reference I can find to Dave is in Pep Comics no. 60 (March 1947), over a year earlier.  Dave had joined the "Shield G-Man Club" and entered a contest.

And he won!

There can be no doubt that Dave loved comics and their characters!

 

[cheetah]

Loving this.  For reference, Famous Funnies 17.  

[sfcityduck]

Thanks!  Doing dinner, back later.

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[PopKulture]

I thought of that very same photo when you were teasing the topic...   

[aardvark88]

Biljo White and Ronn Foss contributed to expanding early comic fandom via Alter Ego zines:

[PopKulture]

1 hour ago, sfcityduck said:

Second, look at the comic storage.  All of his comics are very neatly stacked and separated in their respective cubes.  Clearly, they are organized. 

For sure, and those cubes are made of re-purposed fruit crates, which were abundant in the 40's.

It's really a remarkable photo and in many ways.  

[sfcityduck]

9 minutes ago, aardvark88 said:

Biljo White and Ronn Foss contributed to expanding early comic fandom via Alter Ego zines:

They sure did!  And one of the things that we'll discuss later is whether Dave had any involvement with the burgeoning comic fanzine scene in the early 1960s.  

I think you and everyone else be surprised!

[sfcityduck]

So, back to the topic of Dave's article in that national publication.

The background is this:  1948 was a dark dark year for comic publishers.  The forces of censorship, which had been slowly mounting a case against comics as early 1940, mounted a full scale attack on comics.  This attack was played out in the pages of magazines like Colliers, Time, and the Saturday Review of Literature.  In this later publication, appeared the first significant article by the man who would take the lead in pushing for censorship of comic books.  Yes, the May 29,1948 issue of the Saturday Review of Literature published Frederick Wertham's article entitled "The Comics ... Very Funny." 

You can read it here:  http://www.lostsoti.org/SaturdayReviewOfLiteratureMay291948Page1.htm  (Thanks SOTICollector, for this and much of information on this time period!).

In the face of this onslaught, the comics publishers began to beat a retreat.  Lev Gleason adopted a code of self-censorship and on July 1, 1948, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers Adopted the First Comics Code.

But, then, an unlikely advocate for comic collecting and defender of comics burst onto the scene:  "David Pace Wigransky!"  (FYI - "Pace" was his mother's maiden name).  

Dave wrote and sent to the Saturday Review of Books an incredibly articulate rebuttal of the argument made by Prof. Wertham which Dave entitled "Cain Before Comics."  The power of this lengthy rebuttal is illustrated by the fact that the Saturday Review of Books not only decided to publish it, but that they sent a professional photographer to Dave's house in D.C. to photograph him with his comics to illustrate the rebuttal.  And its no wonder.

I am a former High School debater who won State Championships and competed at Nationals, and I know what a good argument by a High School student looks like.  Dave's article puts forth an argument that is of the highest quality, not just for a High School student, but also for a social science researcher.   You can read it here:

https://issuu.com/twomorrows/docs/alterego90preview/18

Dave started his article by stating his qualifications, in a way that is enough to make any comic collector stand up and cheer.  He noted he'd personally read over 5,100 comics and "intends to make drawing them his profession and life's work."  He then contrasted his personal experience with comics with that of the comic book critics:

Quote

Unlike other critics of comics, I possess a first hand knowledge of them, and unlike even those critics who argue in their favor, I can say I was once an average normal comic book fan and reader, during the war and before it.  Therefore I feel I am more qualified than people like John Mason Brown and Dr. Wertham in criticizing them.

Dave then proceeded in a lengthy argument to tear Wertham apart.  The central point made by Dave is both sophisticated and simple to understand - Wertham reliance's upon anecdotal evidence was a distorted case using a bad methodology:  

Quote

 

A good many of the deliquents that Wertham mentions happened to be readers of comic magazines, just as are 69,999,975 perfectly healthy, happy, normal American boys and girls, men and women, who also read the comics.  It is just as ridiculous to suppose that the 69,999,975 people are law abiding citizens just because they are comic readers as it to suppose that the twenty-five others are depraved criminals just because of their reading habits.  

Capable as Dr. Wertham may be in psychoanalyzation of adults, I certainly do not believe him able to deal equally well with children, due to his fanatical hatred and prejudice toward comic books.  From reading his article I get the impression this feeling colors all of his investigations and reports.  It appears the $64 question to a child being psychoanalyzed is, "Do you read COMIC BOOKS my little man?"  Of course, the juvenile delinquent being a normal child in that way, will answer, "Yes."  "Ah hah," says Dr. Wertham.  "This child is a juvenile delinquent.  This child reads comics books.  Therefore it is because he reads comics books that he is a juvenile delinquent."  This is enough for Dr. Wertham.

 

Dave was, of course, right.  The truth of his rebuttal, which offers other similarly persuasive points, shines through.  

And the world, especially the comic world, took notice.  At that moment, Dave Wigransky became the face of comic collecting and the comic business's most persuasive defender.

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

After Dave's article appeared in the Saturday Review of Books, an article written about him appeared in numerous newspapers throughout the country in November and December 1948.  It repeated the arguments made by Dave in the defense of comics, and publicized them to the much wider national audience served by those many local and state newspapers.  

For its February/March 1949 issues, Timely/Marvel publishing ran an anti-Wertham editorial which liberally quoted Dave's article:

In short, the profile achieved by Dave at the age of 14 rivals the national profile achieved by any comic collector ever.

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[woowoo]

Lamont Larson

[sfcityduck]

Dave was undoubtedly very very proud of the profile he had achieved.  In fact, he was probably insufferable.  A firefighter friend of Dave's in the later part of the 1950s remembers Dave as being like E.F. Hutton - "When Dave spoke, people listened."  However, one of Dave's friends from the record collecting world of the 1960s noted that while Dave was a charismatic presenter of arguments, and he was often swayed by what Dave argued, "disagreement was anathema to Dave."  The impression you get is that Dave loved to pontificate.  Loved to argue with others (but not be questioned).  Loved to delve deeply into his passions.  And comics were certainly one of his passions. 

One of the articles about Dave noted that Dave not only read his comics, but indexed them.  This detailed level of interest in comics is consistent with a letter Dave wrote to the publisher of Dell Comics in the late 1940s or 1950 proposing that Dave write a history of the comics industry.  That's a remarkably confident action for a young man to take!

But, Dave had reason to be confident when communicating with comic industry personalities.  Not only had Timely/Marvel name-checked him their anti-Wertham editorial, but other comic professionals were showing Dave their appreciation.  For example, Simon & Kirby sent Dave the original art for the cover to Headline 25 (May 1947) in appreciation of his defense of comics:

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

And Harvey Kurtzman sent Dave this rare comic strip art (this is a detail, there is a first panel) from his short-lived "Silver Linings" comic strip that ran in the New York Herald-Tribune for nine episodes from March 7 through June 20, 1948:

Dave got other pieces of inscribed original art from both comic book artists and cartoonists that can now be found in private collections and institutions, including the Library of Congress where a late 1947 Kerry Drake comic strip is inscribed with "Best wishes to David Wigransky from Kerry Drake and Alfred Andriola."   

Dave also got letters from comic creators thanking him for his article.  For example, Milt Caniff wrote him a letter of thanks in 1948, to which Dave responded. 

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[sfcityduck]

Before we start to take a deep dive into Dave's life in the 1950s, let's take a quick look at the factors I outline in my first post and how Dave measures up:

The factors that I think should be considered include the following (and this is not an exhaustive list):

• The extent of the person's enthusiasm and love of comics and collecting;  [CHECK - Dave clearly loved comics!]
• The length of time the person collected comics;  [CHECK - Dave started collecting in 1941 and, as you'll see, accellerated his collecting in the late 40s and 50s!]
• The breadth of the the person's comic collection; [CHECK - Dave collected all genres and his collection numbered 5,000 to 6,000 comics by 1948]
• The quality of the person's comic collection; [CHECK - Dave kept his comics in great shape - more to say on this later]
• Whether the person has sought out comic book back issues to fill in gaps in their collection, as opposed to just buying comics off the stands;  [CHECK - We've already seen that he bought back issues, and we'll see more soon] 
• Whether the person has engaged in comic collecting strategies which go beyond just the normal for comic collectors (normal being buying new off the stand and buying back issues from bookstores);
• Whether the person deals comics;
• Whether the person has been a market maker;
• Whether the person has taken the next step to collect original art;  [We've seen that Dave was sent comic original art, but we don't know yet if he sought it out.]
• Whether the person has shown the enthusiasm to take advantage of publisher sponsored fan interaction opportunities (e.g. letters to the editors, joining publisher sponsored fan groups like Sentinels of Liberty or Supermen of America, entering contests, etc.);  [CHECK - Dave joined comic groups like the Shield Junior G-Men and entered contests]
• Whether the person has directly communicated with comic creators (artists, writers, editors) or publishers;  [CHECK - Dave sent and received correspondence from industry professionals in the late 1940s]
• Whether the person has created or availed themselves of opportunities to interact with other fans (fanzines, adzines, conventions, networking);
• Whether the person has gained a significant depth of knowledge about the comics they buy (first appearances, creators, importance to comic history); [CHECK - We've seen that Dave indexed his comics and proposed to write a book on the history of the medium]
• Whether the person has gained a significant depth of knowledge about the comic business;
• Whether the person has shared their knowledge with other comic collectors;
• Whether the person has advocated in favor of comics and/or comic collecting; [CHECK - Dave was probably the most famous anti-comic censorship advocate of his time]
• Whether the person has authored articles on comics or comic collecting; [CHECK - Dave wrote the seminal rebuttal of Wertham's attacks on comics, and saw its arguments repeated in newspapers and Timely/Marvel editorials]
• Whether the person has created or published amateur comics;
• Whether the person has attempted to or become a professional comic creator; and  [We've seen Dave express a desire to be a creative, but as we're still at the point he's 14-15, we have not seen this yet]
• Whether the person has done other acts to further comics or comic collecting (a catch-all).

I think the case for Dave being the "First Great Comic Collector" is being built.  But, clearly there are still a lot of factors to discuss.  

Edited March 9, 2019 by sfcityduck

[HouseofComics.Com]

This is great and I love the way it's being unspooled. Super job!

[sfcityduck]

1 minute ago, HouseofComics.Com said:

This is great and I love the way it's being unspooled. Super job!

Many folks are asleep by now, and I'm headed that way.  So there's a lot more more unspooling that will have to wait until tomorrow.