£60 - £100
Ephemera & Children's Books. Americana: Gleason (Leverett S, publisher), Biro (Charles, director), Wood (Bob, editor), & Kofoed (Bill, editor), Tops: The Adult Magazine of Dramatic Picture Stories, [No. 1], [1949], over-sized comic book, colour printed, 64pp, the text typically browned, but very good condition, lower-margin with minor crease, original publisher's pictorial wrappers as issued, both covers split, of which the upper-cover is just holding, each cover with paper scuffs, the upper-cover with further points of condition, its fore-edge with one repaired chip, its inner margin with two traces of yellow paint, but not affecting legibility of contents, folio (33.6 x 26cm); with [Alfred Henry Forrester (1804-1872)], Alfred Crowquill's Comic History of the Kings and Queens of England, from William the Conqueror to the Present Time. London: Reed & Co., n.d. [1856], 36 hand-coloured lithographed caricatures over 18 sheets, later reinforced verso folds, blue papered boards with original pictorial paper onset, later rebacked in green cloth, marbled endpapers, the 'timeline' 12.3 x 243cm open, (2)
The first issue (of two) of this incredibly rare American 'pulp fiction' published for adults in 1949. The large format of the copies meant they were often found with Life magazine rather than comics at the newsstands, which, coupled with the 25 cents purchase price, limited its audience and longevity.
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