Hake’s Auctions – Online Now
Auction #239 Online Now
Closes November 14th-15th 2023
www.hakes.com

YORK, PENN. — Two things have proved to be true with each successive pop culture auction hosted by Hake’s: bidder engagement has increased over the previous sale, and collectibles once thought to have been apocryphal have surfaced to prove that they do, indeed, exist. All indications point to that trend continuing at Hake’s November 14-15 auction, which is packed with the elusive memorabilia today’s collectors desire but rarely see in the marketplace.

Political memorabilia will open the 1,909-lot sale, starting with an item of great historical importance. Lot #1 is a March 31, 1968, church program book from Washington Cathedral, signed by the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who delivered his last Sunday sermon at that service. Four days later, Dr King lost his life to an assassin’s bullet. The autograph was obtained by a then-18-year-old college student who went on to become a Washington lawyer. He treasured the memento for 55 years before making the decision to part with it. According to Hake’s research, no other MLK-autographed item ever to come to auction was signed at a later point in Dr King’s life. A framed presentation, the signed book comes with a JSA LOA and a letter from the consignor detailing the circumstances leading up to his fortuitous encounter with the civil rights icon ($35/50,000).

An 1856 hand-painted folk art parade banner designed in Spencerian style promotes the ultimately unsuccessful Republican presidential/VP candidates John C. Fremont and William L. Dayton. Hand-inked by artist FW Wells onto two vertical sections of unglazed cotton joined at the center, it is attached to a horizontal wooden pole with 31 handmade square nails. The textile measures 57 by 77 inches ($20/35,000).

More than 400 CGC and CBCS-certified comic books will be offered, from Golden Age to Modern-era issues. Around 75 are from the Duke Caldwell signed comic book collection, described by Hake’s president Alex Winter as “unprecedented — no one has ever had a collection like this one. Each issue has been autographed by someone significant to the book’s production.” The top prize is a Marvel Amazing Spider-Man #667 (October 2011) comic book with cover art by Gabriele Dell’Otto. Issued as a 1:100 retailer incentive variant, it is one of only an estimated 200 in circulation, but it enters another realm of rarity due to the fact that its front cover is boldly signed by both the story’s author Dan Slott and interior artist Humberto Ramos ($20/35,000).

A 1984 original first printing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, which introduced the reptilian crimefighters in comic-book form, has a CGC 9.2NM signature and Turtle head sketch by co-creator Kevin Eastman on its cover. This key Copper Age comic had an estimated print run of only 3,000 issues ($20/35,000).

More than 150 lots of original comic art include daily and Sunday strips, comic book covers and pages; VHS cover art, Disney animation and more. A John Byrne original pen-and-ink cover art for Action Comics #588 (DC Comics, May 1987) portrays Superman in space alongside Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Signed and inscribed by Byrne, the 11¼-by-17-inch classic-cover artwork is estimated at $20/35,000.

After 56 years, Hake’s specialists still can’t say they’ve “seen it all.” That’s because in just about every one of their sales, something extraordinary turns up that has never been seen before in a Hake’s auction. Several notable examples rise to the top layer of the November 14-15 auction, the first being a 1936 Wolverine “Strange True Stories” gum card set. It’s complete with 24 colorful cards, including “The Bat Man,” who is shown flying with bat-like wings. “There’s no way of knowing if the gum card had an influence on DC Comics’ Batman, but it definitely pre-dates the superhero by a full three years,” said Winter. PSA-graded and with provenance from the John Grossman collection, the set is estimated at $10/20,000.

Other noteworthy gum card sets include a 1940 Gum, Inc. R145 Superman set of 72 cards ($10/20,000); and a fully PSA-graded 1970 Topps test set of 55 cards based on the popular country music and variety show Hee Haw, ($5/10,000).

Another Hake’s first appearance comes in the form of a 1964 music speaker that recalls Glenn Strange’s portrayal of Frankenstein’s Monster in 1940s horror films. Designed as a functional piece, the creepy disembodied head could be plugged into any music source, including a transistor or car radio. Amazingly, the complete and all-original monster curiosity retains its original pictorial box ($10/20,000).

One of only a handful of its type known to exist, an “Iron Man” action figure is from Mego’s “World’s Greatest Super Heroes” line. With a 1975 Marvel Comic Group copyright and contained in a blister card, it is AFA-graded 75 Ex+/NM and is the only graded example in the AFA Population Report ($10/20,000).

Hake’s November 14-15 online auction is now open for bidding. For information, 866-404-9800 (toll-free), 717-434-1600 or www.hakes.com.

Signed by JFK & Jackie
Signed by MLK
Animation Cells
100s of Certified Comic Books
Jusko Art
PSA Sets
Always Accepting Quality Consignments
P.O. Box 12001 York, PA 17402
866-404-9800
hakes@hakes.com