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

[Jayman]

5 hours ago, Yellow Kid said:

Building our inventory was mainly a function of taking the time to make note cards saying we bought old comics and then putting them on the bulletin boards of as many markets as possible within about 100 miles from Long Beach and then visiting the promising callers.  Usually $5 or $10 would seal the deal for hundreds of old comics,  However, even then, word was starting to circulate and each year buys cost just a little more.  One of the last big buys I remember was in September of 1962 and we got about 3500 old books for $65.  We sold one of those books, the Flash Gordon FC 84, to a dentist for $65 a few days later--those were the days!

Rick died; relatively young, it seems like it was around the early 1970's.  His wife hated the collection because of the way it had dominated their life, and wanted to sell it.  Leonard asked me to buy it for the store, and it looked like we almost had a deal where I offered to buy it all for cash at fair market value.  It was a lot of cash and no one else came close to matching my offer.  At the last minute, she said she was sorry but someone else had offered her triple what I offered, and she was going to take his offer.  I tried to explain to her that something was wrong, and no one would pay that much.  We parted ways and she sold the collection to Ernie Gerber.  The first problem occurred when he didn't have the cash he promised her.  Ultimately she agreed to let him start selling the books and pay her out of the sales.  Her biggest surprise was yet to come.  Ernie told her that to maximize sales, he had to do restoration work on most of the books and he gave her a bill for his efforts.  What she didn't know was that Ernie was using sales to help fund his books showing old comic book covers.   At this point, she got an attorney, and things really got exciting.

B

WOW! 

[pemart1966]

1.  I wonder what kind of response Dave got to those earliest of ads.

2.  I wonder how big his collection was at its peak.

3.  I wonder when he stopped buying comics.

4.  If by 1966 he was living in a hotel and by 1967 people visiting him make no mention of his comics, it makes sense that the comics were probably gone before 1966...doubtful he would have moved several thousand comics over and over again...but one never knows.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 3/8/2019 at 11:24 PM, sfcityduck said:

Pop Hollister may have been using "wanted to buy" ads...

I got to this article late and am not finished yet, but wanted to point out that this person was actually Pop Hollinger...

Great story you've put together...

[PUNYHUMAN]

Sfcityduck, Thanks again for this thread. A lot of work went into this thread. Sad ending though for Dave it seems.

[lou_fine]

6 minutes ago, PUNYHUMAN said:

Sfcityduck, Thanks again for this thread. A lot of work went into this thread. Sad ending though for Dave it seems.

+1

Very well said and the same sentiments on my part here. 

[Tri-Color Brian]

OK, I finished it all.  Wow...that's all I can say. 

[Randall Dowling]

5 hours ago, sfcityduck said:

It is sad Dave died so young, but he achieved remarkable prominence in two different areas of collecting.  He's still held in awe by Jolson record collectors who invoke his name, his opinions, and his book in their debates.  And he is still remembered by comic collectors for his actions in 1948, and now I hope folks will also appreciate him for more than just his Saturday Review response to Wertham.  

.....

He's gone, but not forgotten.

 

Thanks (in no small part) to you, sfcityduck.  I think I speak for many older comic collectors that grew up way before comics became cool when I say it wasn’t always easy being the kid that collected comics growing up.  The popular kids looked down on kids that read books and the kids that read books looked down on kids that read and collected comics.  As a boy, most other boys were into sports, not comics.  Sure, lots of kids read comics on occasion.  But being “into” them and collecting them separated you from the rest. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and it was challenging then.  I can’t imagine what it was like for Dave, but I’ll always remember his story.  He was one of the first of us.  Without him (and his articulate defense of comics), who knows what might have changed.  There may not have been the tolerance that allowed Bill Gaines to launch his new trend for EC (It’s worth remembering that Wertham’s assault continued through the 50s). Dave’s big stand had to sway some people and their attitude toward comics.  Who knows, perhaps Stan Lee isn’t able to convince Goodman to try superheroes again.  It seems that he was a brave guy that made a difference in the short time he had.

Thanks again for your time and reasearch to keep his memory alive (and to all the other bloggers and comic historians also).  

[Sarg]

This also demolishes the popular idea that comic book collecting started in the '60s. It actually started in the '30s, but it took awhile before they could find one another and begin trading and selling. Wigransky seems pretty advanced in his collecting (and his thinking about comics) by 1948 when he wrote the response to Wertham. 

The most remarkable thing to me is that he was already seeking original art by that time. 

[sfcityduck]

1 hour ago, Sarg said:

 

The most remarkable thing to me is that he was already seeking original art by that time. 

Dave had an advantage.  Whereas many kids his age probably never gave any thought to how comics were made or the notion that an artist could give you (or sell you) their original art, Dave was gifted original art by artists in thanks for his Saturday Review article.  Basically, he was gifted with the knowledge of and opportunity to acquire original art.

That creators reached out to him, apparently gave him the great idea of reaching out to creators.  And in some cases asking creators for art.  As soon as he started developing contacts with creators and publishers, he had a window to areas of information and opportunity that few others of that time period had.  Which is why when the early 1960s role around, Dave can respond to Richard Kyle's inquiry regarding Fox Comics with a level of knowledge that is astonishingly impressive and includes details of the DC v. Fox lawsuit, etc.  Dave got that information from someone who was working with Fox at the time.  

It is remarkable.  It is modern.  The only similar story I can think of is the relationship Jerry Bails developed with Gardner Fox.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 3/8/2019 at 7:01 PM, sfcityduck said:

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:

 

 

I know where Dave is now...he reincarnated as Jim Parsons...

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by Tri-ColorBrian

[originalisbest]

Just a TTT as I really enjoyed this thread.

[sfcityduck]

On 10/1/2019 at 7:57 AM, originalisbest said:

Just a TTT as I really enjoyed this thread.

Thanks.  I have not given up on further researching the Dave Wigransky story.  There is still more to tell.  Here's an example:  Turns out that Dave had a fairly lengthy correspondence with Basil Wolverton that was recently brought to light by Greg Sadowski in his book "Brain Bats of Venus." 

Dave wrote a letter to Wolverton in August 1948 that enclosed a copy of Dave's Saturday Review of Books article rebutting Wertham.  Dave's letter to Wolverton again displays his amazing (truly ahead of its time) knowledge of comics and comic history.  Specifically, Dave noted that his comic collection contained Wolverton's work going all the way back to 1938's Circus Comics!  Dave also lamented that Powerhouse Pepper, one of the comics on display in the famous photo of Dave at the top of this thread, wasn't selling (showing Dave also had a knowledge of the business side of the industry which is, again, astounding).

Wolverton was sufficiently busy with his wife's pregnancy and the birth of his child in September, that he did not get back to Dave until October 5, 1948.  Still, Wolverton valued Dave's letter enough that Wolverton responded by sending Dave a telegram -- the day that his wife and newly born child came home from the hospital!  Wolverton followed up the telegram with a letter to Dave the next day, and he and Dave then had one of the most remarkable exchanges I've ever seen between a young fan and a professional creator. 

I am going to follow this up with highlights of what Sadowski wrote about the exchange of correspondence between Dave and Wolverton in Sadowski's MUST HAVE book (seriously, buy Sadowsky's book!).  But for now, all I have time to relay is this.  Dave's main purpose in writing Wolverton initially is revealed by this passage from Dave's first letter to Wolverton:

Quote

I received a letter from John Day Company, Inc. book publishers, asking me to write a small book defending the comics.  If accepted, it will go on sale in the Spring of next year.  I just finished it, today, after about six weeks of painstaking effort, and I am sure it will ably serve its purpose.  Such a book is, at present, sorely needed by those in the comics industry, but none of them would have  time to write it.  ... although it lacks one vital thing - a forward, written by some well-known professional.

And then Dave asked Wolverton to write the foreword. 

And Wolverton agreed to do so.

Amazing stuff.  

But, not the full story on Dave and Wolverton's amazing exchange of correspondence.

The more I learn, the more apparent it is to me that Dave really was the first great comic collector.

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by sfcityduck

[Mmehdy]

Super work here...

[sfcityduck]

Dave's correspondence with Wolverton did not just concern Dave's book on comics.  It also concerned Wolverton's career.  Sadowski writes in Brain Bats of Venus (make sure you buy it):

Quote

 

Wolverton took time to let David Wigransky know he was again working at Timely.  Wigransky replied with typical discernment:

"Timely's science fiction lacks originality, and I was surprised they'd be dealing with you again, after so rudely dropping you and your work without notice a while back ... The best in current science fiction is published by Entertaining Comics ...  I'd like to see you working for E.C., like Howard Kurtzman, who used to do "Hey, Look!" for Timely, and is, in my estimation, one of the top humorists."

 

Dave's comments were prescient.  Wolverton's stint at Timely doing serious work ended after six serious stories.  And Kurtzman would ultimately recruit Wolverton to work on Mad in 1953.  Sadowski writes that Wolverton made the following notation in his diary after Stan Lee advised him that he didn't need any more stories from Wolverton:

Quote

Finished "Gateway to Horror," the last of six Illustories for Timely Comics, Inc.  ("Illustories" was a term coined by David Wigransky to stories both written and illustrated by an artist.)

Dave, for his part, had noted in earlier correspondence to Wolverton that "You have not been just a mere cartoonist answering my questions, but a real FRIEND in every way."  And it appears from the way that Wolverton corresponded to Dave regarding his career, politics, etc., that there was some truth in that statement.  At the very least, Wolverton held Dave in enough regard to adopt his terminology ("Illustories") about comics and to actually draft a foreward for Dave's book on comics.  

This really seems far outside of the norm of fan/pro interactions for that time period (and maybe even today).

Edited October 3, 2019 by sfcityduck

[Pat Calhoun]

great stuff, but you have to count the 2 stories written by SF writer Daniel Keyes - making 8 Wolverton Atlas fantasies

[path4play]

On 3/9/2019 at 1:24 AM, sfcityduck said:

Let's take a bit of a deeper dive into a few of the factors I outlined in the first post.  Specifically, these:

• 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 has taken the next step to collect original art; 

All three of those factors deserve check offs.  Why?

Well, starting at least in 1948 and continuing to at least 1950 or so, Dave embarked on a remarkable campaign to fill in the holes in his collection.  Dave was born in 1934.  He probably first started buying comics off the rack in 1941, and I doubt his buying was as comprehensive when he was 7 as it later became.  So, Dave started taking classified ads out in national magazines like Popular Science, pulps like Other Worlds, and state and local newspapers seeking to buy back issue comics.  

Pop Hollister may have been using "wanted to buy" ads first to get supply for his early comic dealing business, but Dave was probably the first comic collector to take out classifieds in a such a wide array of publications across a wide geographic area for the purpose of obtaining back issue comics he needed to fill in holes in his collection.  

For example, Dave took out the following classified ad in the Brookshire Times, the newspaper for Brookshire, Texas (at the time Dave lived in D.C.):

 

Although it may not look like it to our eyes, this was an astounding classified ad for 1949.

Think about it.  Dave was:

(1) taking out an ad in Texas when he lived in D.C.!

(2) taking an ad out to buy comic books published in 1938 thru 1942!  Why start in 1938?  I think we all know why!

(3) taking an ad out to buy original comic and cartoon art at a time when most fans probably didn't even know it existed!

And this is just one of MANY classified ads Dave took out in newspapers.

Dave did more than just take out classifieds.  He wrote comic artists to ask for original art.  A letter to Caniff in 1949 asking for a Steve Canyon page is preserved in the National Cartoonist Society archives.

Dave clearly checks all of three of the boxes I identify above!

But, let's dig a bit deeper into his classifieds.

 

 

Some incredible research sfcityduck.  Great reading - not sure how I missed this the first go around.

[Dr. Love]

2 minutes ago, path4play said:

Some incredible research sfcityduck.  Great reading - not sure how I missed this the first go around.

Truly.  Our version of the Pulitzer Prize worthy.  

[woowoo]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:14 AM, jimjum12 said:

Do you still have your "core" collection, Richard ? Here's a photo of Rick Durrell and Burt  at Cherokee, for those who haven't seen it already..... very little in that room would have cost more than $ 35, with most being less than $5 . GOD B;LESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

That is a copy of Action 1 bottom left @jimjum12 

[sfcityduck]

18 minutes ago, Pat Calhoun said:

great stuff, but you have to count the 2 stories written by SF writer Daniel Keyes - making 8 Wolverton Atlas fantasies

8 that he drew, but only 6 were "Illustories" that he both wrote and drew.  Apparently, Wolverton himself wanted to count only the "illustories."  Interesting stuff.

[woowoo]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 8:14 AM, jimjum12 said:

Do you still have your "core" collection, Richard ? Here's a photo of Rick Durrell and Burt  at Cherokee, for those who haven't seen it already..... very little in that room would have cost more than $ 35, with most being less than $5 . GOD B;LESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

black and white