In addition to the first Dandy annual illustrated right, the sale included some early bound runs. In March, CBPA sold bound vols. for the years 1944-45 at £800 apiece; this time they sold a 1946 vol. at £450. Of the same sort of period, Rupert annuals from the war years of 1943-44, in average condition, sold at £220 each and a complete run of Knockout for the year 1947, bound as two vols., made a good price at £303.
Bound volumes of Beezer for the years 1966-70 made £485 each and a complete run of all 261 issues of Mandy, a D.C. Thomson title that ran from 1967-72 and introduced not only Mandy herself, but Blundering Bessie and Dolly Daydream, were offered without reserve and sold at £715. A few years ago, says Mr Phillips, you couldn’t get 50p a copy.
There were strong prices too for other mixed, job lots of girls’ pop papers of the early 1960s – titles such as Valentine, Roxy, Marty, Mirabelle, Romeo and Marilyn.
Another result which Phillips marked out as significant was a bid of £123 on a copy of Captain America No.1.
This was not the original US version of 1941, but a 1954, sixpenny reprint by L. Miller of Captain America #77, and while these reprints have long been fairly scarce, they have traditionally been cheap as well. Now they appear to be scarce and rather more expensive – an area of the market set to expand.
Dandy, Mandy and other Thrillers
A FEW of the highlights of the June 10 sale held by Comic Book Postal Auctions are illustrated in the accompanying caption stories – along with one of the two Dandy annuals sold a couple of weeks later in Swindon – and as ever, Malcolm Phillips has provided me with some informed observations on prices, market movements and much else besides.
