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Gus Edson - Original Comic Strip Art for The Gu

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Comics Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Gus Edson - Original Comic Strip Art for The Gu
Gus Edson - Original Comic Strip Art for The Gumps Daily dated 7-28-44 (Chicago Tribune, 1944). One of the most successful comic strips of its day, The Gumps debuted in 1919, and the merchandising floodgates opened. From sheet music to board games to radio shows to toys, suddenly the Gumps, the creation of cartoonist Sidney Smith, were everywhere. One of the first true "superstars" of comics, Smith was reportedly earning $100,000 per year in 1935 when he turned the strip over to Gus Edson, who chronicled the family's adventures until the strip's cancellation in 1959. (An interesting aside: Academy Award-winner Martin Landau worked as Edson's assistant during his time on the strip. According to an interview in Outre Magazine, Landau said, "I was Gus Edson's assistant on 'The Gumps.' I was seventeen years old and signed Gus's name as well as he could. I can still draw 'The Gumps.'") The example offered here shows Edson (or is it Landau?) at the peak of his powers, with Aunt Min, Ferdinand, and a hauntingly beautiful woman reminiscent of Matt Baker's Flamingo. Measuring approximately 21.5" x 7.5" overall, and in excellent condition, the shading in the last panel is rendered on an acetate overlay. Signed by Edson in the second panel. Important notice: Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.