The May 1963 Marvel Comics Amazing Spiderman #2, CGC graded 9.2, brought $57,500 ($18/24,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Bruneau & Co
CRANSTON, R.I. — Leading the more than 750 lots offered in Bruneau & Co Auctioneers’ Fall Pop Culture Auction on December 2, was a copy of Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy #15. Other highlights included a substantial collection of sports memorabilia and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and figurines. Travis Landry, director of pop culture, antiques specialist and auctioneer for Bruneau & Co, remarked that he could not be happier with how the auction went, especially given how volatile the market has been in recent years. In total, the sale brought 13,879 bidders and realized $633,156.
A dealer and collector based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas scored big with Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy #15. This comic book is most notable for featuring the first appearance of Spider-Man, Uncle Ben and Aunt May. In addition to its canonical importance, the book was authenticated and graded 6.0 by CGC. Finishing almost exactly where Landry expected it to, this book sold for $66,250.
Possibly even more exciting to collectors was Amazing Spider-Man #2. This May 1963 comic featured the first appearance of the Vulture and the Terrible Tinkerer. With stunning white pages, this CGC 9.2 is an exceptionally rare find. Landry reports that there are only 12 known copies rated higher than this edition. The lucky buyer, a collector from California, won the book for $57,500. Consigned from the same collection was the series’ first edition from March 1963 which brought $26,250. This copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1 was graded 6.5 and had off-white to white pages. The original Spider-Man comic featured the first appearance of both J. Jonah Jameson and Chameleon and also the first Fantastic Four crossover.
The November 1974 Marvel Comics Incredible Hulk #181, featuring the first full appearance of Wolverine, CGC 9.2 with off-white/white pages, earned $3,375 ($4/6,000).
Another Marvel comic that bidders loved was Incredible Hulk #181. Landry shared that much of the draw for this Bronze Age book is the first full appearance of Wolverine, who is featured in action on the cover with Hulk and the Wendigo. “Hulk #181 is what I consider to be a bread-and-butter staple comic. That is, there’s almost a copy in every auction, maybe not a 9.2 like this one, but I’d say that it is the Amazing Fantasy #15 equivalent of the Bronze Age of comics. It has the first full appearance of Wolverine, and that iconic cover with Wolverine coming over and trying to claw at Hulk. It’s just a book that everybody loves.” This CGC 9.2 Hulk #181 with off-white to white pages closed out at $8,750.
A set of Cracker Jack baseball cards originating from a collection in Willimantic, Conn., took the auction’s second spot categorically. Landry shared that the consignor of the cards inherited them from an uncle who bought them in the early 70s. Leading the pack was the #103 card from 1914: Joe Jackson. Minor trimming along one edge of the card, as noted by Beckett, did not seem to deter bidders who were drawn to the card’s “minimal staining and great eye appeal.” The certified “authentic” card stretched to $41,250. Landry made sure to add that Cracker Jack cards “are not like your standard baseball card — they’re very thin paper and they were always subject to staining from the caramel within Cracker Jacks because they were just thrown in the box. So, they’re very hard to find in good condition like this.” Others from the collection included a 1915 Honus Wagner card, graded “3.5 very good,” which earned $18,125, and a near-mint (BVG 7) 1914 Eddie Collins card with no known higher. The Eddie Collins card achieved $8,750. These top cards were all won by the same bidder, a collector based in Maryland.
A record sleeve of a mono print of The Beatles’ 1966 Yesterday And Today LP featuring the iconic, banned “butcher” cover image with all four Beatles dressed in white coats holding dismantled baby dolls and pieces of raw meat. The cover slashed its estimate, selling for $9,687 ($2/3,000).
Offered alongside comics and sports memorabilia, the Beatles’ 1966 Yesterday and Today record sleeve rose to an unexpected finish. “That was another result that absolutely blew my mind. And it didn’t even have the record. It was the fact that the sleeve was for a mono printing of the album, not a stereo which is far more common. It also had great provenance, coming from a gentleman named Larry Rifkin whose father was Wally Rifkin, a radio DJ in Connecticut. The story is that this album was sent to the radio station, but Wally kept the sleeve because of the graphic on it.” That graphic, the since-banned “butcher” cover image depicts all four Beatles dressed in white coats holding dismantled baby dolls and pieces of raw meat. The iconic, yet controversial cover brought $9,687.
Other noteworthy highlights from the sale included a massive collection of Ninja Turtles toys and figurines and some factory-sealed Matchbox cars. The astonishing competition of one Matchbox car, series number 71, the “Jeep Gladiator Truck” from the mid-1960s, resulted in $3,375 and an important lesson for Landry. After the sale, Landry inquired about the interest and learned that buyers were hardly interested in the actual car inside. Landry was kind enough to share his newfound knowledge: “That Matchbox package with the simple yellow arrow going down is one of the earliest known factory-sealed packages. It wasn’t the cars that made those values special — it was the fact that the card back had the simple yellow arrow going down. And so that’s why Matchbox cars that are typically worth $150 to $200 are bringing several thousand. All because of the packaging — nothing to do with the car itself.”
“That’s the coolest part about this job. You never stop learning.”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Bruneau & Co is at 63 Fourth Avenue. The company’s next sale, Winter Fine & Decorative Art, will take place January 22. For more information, 401-533-9980 or www.bruneauandco.com.
