Spectacular Vintage Toy and Memorabilia Collection to be Offered by Heritage!

Dallas, Texas: Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) will offer the spectacular toy and memorabilia collection of Larry Jacobs in their upcoming Signature auction to be held May 18, 19 & 20 at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City.

Larry Jacobs was bitten by the collecting bug at an early age. Born in April 1963 in Providence, Rhode Island, Larry says, "I was always collecting something, whether it was coins, comic books or what have you." But Larry wasn't just an accumulator, gathering "stuff" randomly and without purpose; he had an eye for future value even at an early age. "When Star Wars #1 was published by Marvel in the summer of 1977, I bought 20 copies off the newsstand and stashed them away, unread, as a future investment. I probably still have them somewhere." It was an inauspicious start for Jacobs, who now works for a Top Ten bank in the Northeast in the field of commercial loans.

It was in 1973, though, that Larry's life was irrevocably changed when a friend introduced him to the joys of collecting comic character memorabilia. Statues, toys, books, watches...if it had a comic character on it, it was fair game for Larry's collection.

"At one point, I had amassed a complete collection of Big Little Books," Larry remembers (Big Little Books were an incredibly successful series of publications that were first issued by The Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, WI. Typically, they were hardcover books with a plethora of black-and-white illustrations. Everyone from Mickey Mouse, Alley Oop and Little Orphan Annie to the Phantom, The Green Hornet and Dick Tracy were featured in the treasured volumes. As time went on, other publishers got into the act with literally hundreds of Big Little Books - or BLBs - issued between 1932 and 1988).

"Big Little Books could be about virtually anything," says Jacobs. "Cartoon and comic book characters were popular subjects, but a number of real-life subjects were introduced, including Harry Houdini, Buffalo Bill, Billy The Kid, and Clyde Beatty, to name just a few. Movie adaptations were another popular subject, such as books based on the W.C.Fields version of Alice in Wonderland, filmed in 1933; The Buccaneer, starring Frederic March; and Treasure Island with Jackie Cooper. There's even a volume titled Mickey Mouse and Minnie March to Macy's, a very rare promotional giveaway from 1935 in which Mickey and Minnie attend the Macy's parade!"

"I sold most of that collection after I wrote Big Little Books: A Collector's Reference and Value Guide in 1996," Jacobs said, "and put the money into several other areas of interest."

"The way my collection has developed recently can pretty much be broken down into three main areas," Larry continued. "For the past several years, I've been focused on boxed comic character watches, vintage Disney books and paper items, and boxed character toys."

In talking to Jacobs, one gets the feeling that the watches are his main area of interest. And who can blame him? These often-neglected collectibles are becoming harder and harder to find, especially the beautiful examples Larry insists on, mint in their original boxes.

"The Tom Corbett watch is a personal favorite," Larry says. "It's not only in beautiful condition, but it invokes that whole retro-1950s space adventure vibe which is so very, very cool. The Ingersoll Mickey Mouse Lapel Watch is a great piece, too, as is the Woody Woodpecker wrist watch."

"Part of the fun of a collection like this is the chase," says Jacobs, "looking for just the right piece to fill that one last hole. It's tough to find watches like this with their original packaging. How many toys did you keep in pristine condition when you were a kid? Me? I ripped the box open as soon as I got it home and started playing with it. But the very difficulty of finding superb examples is half the fun."

Another area that Jacobs pursued with a passion were rare and valuable pop-up books, where each page that is turned reveals another three-dimensional scene.

"Again, these are tough to find in high grade," Jacobs says, "as they're rather delicate and very susceptible to damage. It's amazing to me that any of these have survived the rigors of time in the shape that they have."

One of the most spectacular books in Jacobs' collection is the stunning "Pop-Up" Buck Rogers Strange Adventures in the Spider-Ship, published by Blue Ribbon Books in 1935. The great graphics, coupled with its impeccable condition, make this a real winner.

"As a follow-up to their popular "Pop Up" line," Jacobs says, "Blue Ribbon issued the Mickey Mouse Waddle Book in 1934. This is, according to any collector of Disneyana, one of the true 'Holy Grails' of collecting. It's nearly impossible to find this book at all, much less in perfect condition. The 'Waddle' series never caught on with the public the way the Pop-Up books did, and quietly faded from view after a short time. This book, however, remains as a wonderful example of what might have been."

The "waddles" in the title were colored articulated character punch-outs found in the back of the book. They would be punched out, assembled and then could waddle or walk down a separate punch-out inclined pathway (the fact that the book was designed with pieces to punch out explains why so few high-grade examples exist today). All four assembled character Waddles are present in Jacobs' volume: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, and Tanglefoot. Additionally, the pathway is complete and three of the four "empty" punch-out sheets are also present, as is the usually-missing dust jacket and "banner" which fit around an envelope containing the pathway and other pieces, making this a truly unusual example of a coveted collectible. An added treat is a four page Blue Ribbon Waddle Book advertising section excerpted from an early 1930s catalog which contains pictures and publicity information for the books. The combined package presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Disney collector.

"Another piece I'm very proud of," Jacobs added, "is the insanely rare Donald Duck and Clara Cluck Cut-Out Book, published by Whitman in 1937. This book is almost unknown, even to advanced Disney collectors, and rarely, if ever, turns up for sale. The problem is obvious; this book was intended to be cut up and destroyed. I'm happy to say that none of the cut-outs have been removed from this amazing volume."

The third aspect of Jacobs' current collection is boxed character toys. "Again, condition is key with these items," Jacobs says. "To me, it was never a matter of having just any example of a particular piece. I wanted the very best example I could get my hands on."

"Best examples" abound in Jacob's collection, with the inclusion of such rare treasures as a set of latex statues depicting Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs issued by Sieberling circa 1937, complete with its original box. "While many other companies were producing bisque figures of Snow White, Sieberling issued this set in latex, which is much more fragile over time, as latex tends to dry out and disintegrate. It's amazing that these have survived at all, let alone in such great shape. It's very difficult to find a complete set of these figurines."

Another fun example from Jacobs' collection is the Donald Duck on Trapeze Toy, also complete (of course) with its original packaging. An early 1930s issue in celluloid from Borgenfeldt, this is perhaps the finest example of this hard-to-find rarity to be offered in years, as it looks nearly brand-new.

So why sell a collection that has taken the better part of thirty years to put together? "Well, the kids are going to college soon, and I thought this would be a good time to cash out and reinvest," says Jacobs, wistfully. "I thought a lot about this, and the process that it would entail, and I realized that the time was right. At about the same time, I was approached by Heritage, and everything just seemed to come together."

"I've been a fan of Heritage for several years now," says Jacobs, "and I've always been impressed with the high level of professionalism they show in their auctions. Their catalogs are second to none, and they really seem to care about this industry. I wanted to partner with someone in this process that was going to treat my collection with the same love and concern I've lavished on it all these years, and Heritage was that company. I couldn't be happier with the way they've treated me and my treasures."

"I'm very proud of this collection, and about the upcoming auction that's going to result from it. In all my years of collecting, I don't think I've ever seen a sale with so many high-quality, rare and elusive items. This should have collectors talking for quite some time."

Is Jacobs done with collecting? "Far from it," he says. "I've got collecting in my DNA, so this is merely a crossroads, not a dead end. Like I said, I'd like to invest some of the proceeds of this sale in putting my kids through college, but I'd also like to write a book about comic character watches and put together a nice high-grade collection of Amazing Spider-Man #1-20 and Superman #1-20. It looks like Heritage and I are going to be friends for quite a long time."

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HeritageComics.com.

HCA specializes in rare, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art, classic toys, movie posters and comics-related collectibles.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end comics material, toys, and original art are invited to call Ed Jaster at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 288 or Lon Allen at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 261 to discuss their rare comics and original illustration and comic art. Or visit HeritageComics.com and click on the "consign" tab. Or simply email Ed Jaster at EdJ@HeritageComics.com or Lon Allen at LonA@HeritageComics.com.

Music and Hollywood memorabilia collectors should contact Doug Norwine at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 452 or email DougN@HeritageGalleries.com.

Movie poster consignors, please call Grey Smith at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 367 or email GreySm@HeritageMoviePosters.com.

To order a catalog contact Nicole Jewell at 800 872 6467 x 272, or mail your request to Nicole c/o Heritage Comics, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219.