I'm going through a phase right now - I'm about to dump almost my entire collection of Don Bradman books onto a certain bookstore in Adelaide. I've decided to keep the ones I want to keep along with my clippings - because nobody's getting those for a long, long while, but I just realised that I have not only doubles of some titles, but bloody triples and even quads!!! I have to say that a lot of them aren't that much chop as it is, they're light on both content and detail and as such I won't miss them at all. Since we moved here in 2004 they've been in a box within a box and when I pulled them out the dust was heavy.
When it comes to such books there's a limit that you want to stick with. In my own opinion you really only need the following:
The Bradman Albums
Farewell To Cricket
The Art Of Cricket (with CD Rom)
Bodyline Autopsy by David Frith
The Don by Roland Perry (updated and revised edition)
Bradman by Michael Page
Bradman's First Tour and
Bradman - Challenging The Myth and as far as I'm concerned you've got all you need. The rest are just eye candy and just show the same photos and reprint the same anecdotes as the ones I've listed.
Plus which there's a lot of other and at times more interesting cricket books out there. If you get the chance then get anything written by Gideon Haigh, a writer almost without peer. His books on Warwick Armstrong, World Series Cricket and his classic, The Summer Game, are essential on my reading list. Haigh has set a great benchmark not just for cricketing writers but for writers and biographers everywhere. I've given Haigh books to people who don't even like cricket, let alone watch it, and to a person they've come back asking can they keep the books (of course - books are for sharing) because they've enjoyed them so much. Haigh has turned more than one of my friends onto cricket. He writes in a style that reminds me of Jack Fingelton, only without some of the bitterness (Fingleton had, shall we say, 'issues' with some of his cricketing peers). Mind you Fingleton wrote some classic as well - his book Cricket Crisis remains the best I've seen about the Bodyline as written by a player who was not only there, but managed to make some runs against it. While you're at it pick up anything by David Frith, another writer and biographer who shows talents above and beyond. His Bodyline Autopsy should be the last word on that entire series and it's aftermath, unless someone can suddenly discover caches of notes and accounts not before seen. Read that book and that era, those games, will come to life from the pages. He also wrote one of the most interesting of all the cricketing books, By His Own Hand, which documented cricketing suicides, those players who've taken their own lives for various reasons. The underlying theme was one of depression and as a book it makes for fascinating reading.
Funny isn't it? You collect something for so long and suddenly wake up and ask yourself, "Why?" Or is it just me?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Summer Game, The Winter Book
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
They're Back! Bradman Follow Up
You may, or may not, remember this post from earlier this year. In it I had a little whinge about how I'd loaned two scrapbooks of original newspaper clippings about Sir Donald Bradman to the State Library in 2004 and how they'd then gone missing, presumably for all time. Well now I can share the rest of the tale. Mind you it'd help if you read the previous post first for the background information.
In around mid March of this year I received a text message, out of the blue, asking me to contact the Library. I thought, "Oh crap, not again!" but eventually I phoned. On the other end of the phone was a delightful young lady informing me that she'd located the books! Her story was that after Barry Gibbs passed away his office lay empty until early this year. Once the new person started moving into his old office she found boxes of paper and other office supplies, books and the like, which she turned over to the lady I spoke to. The boxes were then sorted through and in one were two scrap books. As she said, "I thought to myself, 'Can these be THOSE scrapbooks?' and thought I'd better check. Sure enough there were there, exactly as described and the sealer? Your name and contact details, albeit out of date, were inserted into the 1930 book." From there she called me and off we went.
I offered them to the Library as a research tool, so that the information could be scanned, before I took possession of the books. That all went ahead, although I believe that the Library felt that they had all the raw information already and didn't scan anything, and as of 1pm yesterday the books came back to me and with me they'll remain until such a time as I can work out what to do with them.
It was great to be able to sit down and re-read through them and see the information contained within. There's two books, both small sized books, the first book is just over 60 pages, the second is 80 pages plus. The first book covers the 1928/1929 Ashes series, which is notable for being the first Ashes series that Bradman played in, and the second book covers the 1930 Ashes series, in which Bradman exploded setting record after record (the scans on this entry are from the 1930 book - I'd love to scan the entire books but the 1929 book is very fragile and the original cover is long gone). The books are of the proper vintage and are complete with scorecards and relevant information for the games played. They cover the domestic series, along with the test matches, and have some stunning original clippings. Frustratingly the 1928/29 book says it's 'Vol I, No I' and references a second volume - I expect that whoever made these books at the time probably made several others. I wonder if they exist or are now lost to time? As for their worth, well you tell me - to some they'd be worthless, to others, well the sky might well be the limit. They're off limits for the duration now.
So a huge thanks to Suzy at the State Library - expect something nice to be on your desk by the end of the week. She went above and beyond the call, after all I'd told her that I expected that the books were lost and that I'd wait until they surfaced in an auction somewhere so I could try and buy them back, so she could have just kept quiet, not said a word and I'd have been none the wiser. Considering my day job it's refreshing to have some faith restored (plus I know that Shish just loves stories like this).
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Monday, January 15, 2007
Stolen Art, Donations & More Whinge
This came across my desk this morning and I thought I'd share as it helps re-enforce why I'll never donate another item to a museum or a University.
ORIGINAL ART: THE QUESTION OF LEGALITY!That burns me up but I hate to say this, it's not that uncommon a practice from what I've noticed. I've bought several books and manuscripts from various charity sales that have the donation details notated in them on the inside, in one case I bought some first edition paperbacks - Lewis's 'Screwtape Letters', Orwell's '1984' were in there amongst others - for around twenty cents each to see index cards inside with full details of the donation to a well known University here in Adelaide and the details of what the person wanted done with those books. Guess what? Ten years later they're sitting at a Salvation Army jumble sale. Now they're safe on my book shelf.
Sometimes there are as many problems as perks in this business.
The original art situation is a prime example and riddled with stories about work that has been lost, destroyed or stolen—sometimes all three, at once. In a perfect world, the artists—or their agents—would deal directly with collectors, but that scenario was made impossible decades ago by publishers who insisted on keeping the publication rights and the work itself. Although things may be more equitable today than yesterday, the past is heaped with corruption, greed, and betrayal. And sometimes, it continues to taint the present.
One such situation has recently come to my attention: the sale of my original FOOM Poster art.
About a year ago, the piece was in the possession of an individual who requested, through my manager J. David Spurlock, my signature on it. I declined. Unlike many comic convention guests, I do not charge for signing material (with the exception of dealers who plan to resell it) and have autographed thousands of books, prints, posters, and original art for fans and friends. This specific request, however, was unique because of the disreputable chain of events behind it. In the 1970s, I gifted the art to the Harry "A" Chesler Collection at Fairleigh-Dickenson University because I was a friend of Harry's for many years (with many visits to my home or his) and I helped structure the collection at his request.
Most of Harry's original comics pages were drawn by obscure artists in the 1930-40s and were not particularly impressive by today's standards. I felt that a major piece of my work would not only bring the collection up to date, but also give it a fundamental cornerstone upon which other material could be added and built. I selected the FOOM Poster because it was large, viewable, well-known, and visualized all the primary Marvel characters, the ONLY such piece I have ever done. To make it even more sensational and valuable, I hand colored the art. Harry seemed touched by the gift and it deepened our friendship significantly.
I assure you that Harry did NOT provide his art collection and a sizable annuity to FD to maintain it so they could sell it off; I say this because I was THERE, every step of the way. Harry had a vision that his collection would grow annually, funded by the interest of the $100K+ gift he had granted the school, into America's most IMPORTANT comics-related art gallery and reference library on the subject. The FD administration assured him that his dream would be realized. Instead, beyond the initial dedication event, FD has NEVER done a thing of significance with the HAC Collection—until Harry died. Then, they began to sell it off. I protested bitterly with letters and phone calls, but was rebuffed with an explanation that "higher administration" had made the decision to liquidate much of the collection.
Essentially, they had promised Harry a magnificent legacy, then blew it out for cash. Their actions were a clear violation of Harry's intent. Likewise, I did NOT give Harry and the school the FOOM Poster original to sell or give away. It was Harry's understanding that his unique pop-culture collection be FOREVER maintained in his name. Instead, the institution has NEVER used the material for any significant purpose, except to sell it off, which is unreasonable, disgraceful, and unethical. What was to be a LIVING TRIBUTE to one of the founders of the Golden Age of Comics became a travesty, smearing the school and those involved with the scum of greed, lies, and hypocrisy.
However, I have no knowledge of my gift ever being sold and am quite disturbed that this art, given to memorialize an early comics publisher whom I knew for many years, will financially benefit people who have nothing to do with upholding the honorable purpose of my donation. At the end of last year, I exchanged several emails with the person who had the art, after hearing that his intention was to sell it. In attempting to determine how he obtained it, I heard a number of conflicting stories. When I requested even minor proof that the art was obtained legitimately, the individual finally claimed "the piece has already been sold, privately." Yet, this week, it has materialized in an offering by an "auctioneer," along with descriptive copy that seems to suggest I have sanctioned the piece. I have not.
For the record, I have no personal knowledge of the art ever being liquidated by FD University and suspect that it may have been surreptitiously removed from the facility and could qualify as stolen goods. The individual who curated the collection has also stated that he has no awareness of the art being liquidated at auction. The high value of the art would place such a piece in a felony status, possibly putting any seller and buyer in criminal jeopardy. It is in all our interests to deal honestly and fairly, whether privately or publicly, with this kind of situation. What should have been a point of celebration has, instead, become a tragic and unsavory moment of comic history.
I urge those in possession of the piece to return it to FD for the purpose it was originally intended.
JIM STERANKO
Mind you I've had my own bad experience. In 2002 I was shopping at a little (now defunct) bookstore here in Adelaide when I found two beat-up old scrapbooks. I had a more detailed look and found that they were scrapbooks full of clippings detailing the Australia v England Ashes tours of 1929 and 1930-31. Anyone who knows their cricket will know exactly what they mean - Sir Donald Bradman's first ever series and his first UK tour. And yep, all original clippings, painstakingly cut and pasted onto the pages. Little black books, leather bound, one with the cover coming off. I bought them both and took them home.
In a moment of insanity (you'll learn why I now consider it insanity) in early 2004 I decided to loan the books to the Bradman Museum here in Adelaide. I walked in and spoke with the then curator, Barry Gibbs. Nice guy. We spent the better part of the afternoon talking cricket and looking at the books - he was impressed as there were clippings in the book that didn't appear to be in Bradman's own (huge) collection. Barry asked what did I want to do, I said that I'd like to loan them to the museum so that they could use them. Barry pointed out that the charter clearly said that the goods in the museum had to come from Bradman's own collection - no problems. I told him that he was welcome to copy the books and that the State Library could use them, but I would want them back. Barry agreed and off we went.
About a year went by and I'd heard nothing. I called a few times but got no call back. One of the people who worked there told me that Barry was quite ill so I thought, "Well I'll hold back and wait til he gets better." Sadly he didn't and in April 2006 he passed away. Again, nice guy. I let some time pass (I didn't want to appear to be ghoulish) and then contacted the museum.
I got a phone call from the new person in charge. "What books? We don't have any books here and we have no record of them." My blood froze. I explained what had happened and was told, sorry, no books, can't help you. My guess is that either someone stole them or that Barry might have accidentally taken them home and now they're part of his estate - but let me make it clear, I don't blame Barry nor do I believe he stole the books. I now keep looking on eBay and in the major cricket auctions for them, because if they turn up I'm going to be making contact and claiming stolen goods. Part of me also wants to lodge a police report, but I think I'll go back down to the museum this week (no call back, as expected) and see if I can't find out some more.
I tell you, when I die my collection isn't going to any museum, university or any other such 'charitable' institution. It's all going to the kids - they can sell it, burn it or do whatever they want with it. I'm betting they'll sell it, cash in and have some fun. As they should. Donations? I'll give money and goods for sale, but no more 'loans'. Too many horror stories like Sterankos and my own experiences just make me not want to go anywhere near them. After all someone is going to make some cash from my books.
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