Two CGC-certified Pulps from the Legendary Collection of Dr. Richard Meli Realize Six Figures Each

One of the most amazing and pristine collections of classic pulps, graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), went under the hammer in Heritage Auctions’ Dr. Richard Meli Collection Pulps Signature® Auction on December 6, 2025. Renowned for Meli’s completism as well as his discerning eye for securing the highest-quality copies possible, the group is one of the greatest troves, if not the premier collection, of pulp magazines ever assembled.

“This collection has been a lifelong passion of mine, and I’m so excited to be able to share it with the world,” Meli said. “I spent the last 50 years hunting for the highest-graded pulps in existence and had a lot of fun doing it. Now that I’ve achieved my goal on many of the books, I’m honored to be able to allow others to do the same.”

Pulp magazines date back to the 1890s and enjoyed their greatest popularity in the 1920s to 1940s. They typically published sensational and lurid genre fiction — mysteries, horror, adventure tales, hero stories and science-fiction. Pulp authors are still celebrated today, such as legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs and Conan creator Robert E. Howard. Renowned artists like Margaret Brundage, best known for her Weird Tales cover paintings, and Norman Saunders, remembered for creating the Mars Attacks cards of the 1960s, figure heavily in Meli’s collection as well. Classic detective authors like Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie also feature prominently, with the collection including some of the earliest issues of the iconic mystery title Black Mask.

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Among the highlights of sold from the collection in this auction was a Spicy Mystery Stories #1 graded CGC 9.6 (lot 82010), which realized $156,000. The Dr. Meli Collection includes the highest-graded copies of almost every Spicy pulp issue. Spicy titles, which typically had titillating covers featuring a “good girl” in bondage or peril, included Spicy Mystery Stories, Spicy Adventure Stories, Spicy Detective Stories and Spicy Western Stories.

Also included was a Weird Tales #118 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 82019), which realized $105,000. This pulp, with its iconic Brundage “Bat Woman” cover painting, is the sole highest CGC-graded copy.

“This may be the very best pulp collection in existence,” says CGC President Matt Nelson. “Dr. Meli spent decades searching for the highest-grade pulps he could find. His success is evidenced by the large number of pulps that CGC graded 9.4, 9.6 and even 9.8, which is virtually without precedent since CGC launched pulp grading almost two years ago. CGC is honored to have been entrusted with preserving the integrity of this collection and to be part of its story as it is revealed to the public.”

Other CGC-certified pulps sold in this auction include:

• a Weird Tales #1 graded CGC 6.5 (lot 82016), which realized $90,000
• a Snappy Mystery Stories Ashcan #1 graded CGC 9.0 (lot 82009), which realized $66,000
• a Weird Tales #2 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 82017), which realized $66,000
• a Weird Tales #114 graded CGC 9.8 (lot 82018), which realized $40,800
• a Spicy Mystery Stories #5 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 82011), which realized $38,400
• a Weird Tales #125 graded CGC 9.6 (lot 82020), which realized $33,600
• a Spicy Mystery Stories #14 graded CGC 9.2 (lot 82012), which realized $28,800
• a Snappy Adventure Stories Ashcan #1 graded CGC 8.5 (lot 82007), which realized $26,400
• a Mystery Adventure Magazine #20 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 82003), which realized $22,800
• a Spicy Mystery Stories #27 graded CGC 8.0 (lot 83031), which realized $19,200

Prices realized include a buyer’s premium.

About CGC

Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.