ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #4 * Gerber Scarcity Index 9

Heading: A Gerber 9""
Author:
Title: ALL-AMERICAN COMICS No. 4
Place Published:
Publisher:DC [Indicia: All-American Comics Inc.]
Date Published: July, 1939
Description: CGC certified: Poor (0.5): Restored (C-1). Grader's notes: "Color copy back cover; detached cover; married front cover; spine of cover completely split & back cover re-attached with tape; tape interior front cover; wrong back cover; small amount of color touch on left top front cover." Off-white pages. Provenance: The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION.

GPAnalysis: No Restored sales. Only three reported sales in any grade: a Qualified 5.0 (C) sold for $1660 in 10/23; a Universal 4.0 sold for $508 in 2012; and a Universal 3.5 sold for $287 in 2014.

CGC Census: 5 graded copies (3 Universal, 2 Restored). Gerber's Photo-Journal Guide Scarcity Index: 9 ("Very rare: 6-10 copies").

Credits: Cover: Bill Smith. Scripts: Jerry Siegel?, Al Smith, Gene Byrnes, Edwin Alger, Robert Ripley, Percy Crosby, A.W. Nugent, George Storm, Edwina Dumm, Fontaine Fox, Jon Blummer, Carl Claudy, Sheldon Mayer, Richard Rick. Art: Walter Galli, Bill Smith, Stan Asch, Al Smith, Gene Byrnes, Calvin Fader?, Robert Ripley, Percy Crosby, A.W. Nugent, George Storm, Edwina Dumm, Fontaine Fox, Jon Blummer, Ben Flinton, Harry Lampert, Richard Rick.The Father of Funnybooks: Besides being the dad of future MAD magazine publisher Bill Gaines, All-American's Max Gaines was also the father of the American comic book.

"One day in 1933, [Max] was throwing out some old Sunday newspapers and found himself reading the comics. An idea took hold. If he enjoyed reading old comics, there were probably a lot of other people who would, too. He took the idea to a friend at Eastern Color Printing.

"'We've tried it,' the friend said, and showed Max a thirty-two-page collection of Sunday comic reprints that Eastern had done as a premium for Proctor and Gamble.

"'Good idea,' said Max.

"'Lousy idea,' said his friend. 'Nobody likes it around here.'

"Max did, and suggested that Eastern let him sell the scheme to other companies. Eastern agreed. Before the year was out, Max became the specialist in premium comic books. He came in with orders for hundreds of thousands of the magazines, which were given away by major retailers, such as Wheatena, Kinney Shoe Stores, and John Wanamaker." — Frank Jacobs, The MAD World of William M. Gaines. Lyle Stuart: 1972: p. 54.****************************************
The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION comprises over 40,000 comic books, encompassing every single DC comic published for retail sale from 1934 to 2014. The collection was amassed by British music producer Ian Levine over the course of several decades, and it's been hailed as the single greatest collecting accomplishment in comic book history. This collection served as the basis for former DC Comics president Paul Levitz's monumental book 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, published by Taschen in 2017. PBA is proud to present this epic collection in a series of themed sales, including The DC UNIVERSE COLLECTION Part 3: The GOLDEN AGE, coming this summer. To join the DC Universe Collection notifications list, contact pba@pbagalleries.com.

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