Comic Art

Cartoonists Including Gould, Ketcham, Foster, 3 Items

A small collection of original comic art and letters signed by three leading twentieth-century North American cartoonists: Chester Gould, Hank Ketcham, and Hal Foster.

The lot is comprised of:

1. 1p ALS inscribed overall in teal felt tip pen by American illustrator Chester Gould (1900-1985), and signed by him as "Chester Gould" at bottom. Written in Woodstock, Illinois on December 20, 1975. On a cream stock card preprinted with an image of Dick Tracy, Gould's most favorite comic creation, at right. In part: "Thanks for your nice card and note." Minor uneven toning verso, else near fine. 8.875" x 3.5". Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope also inscribed in Gould's hand, and bearing a preprinted "Dick Tracy / Woodstock / Illinois / 60098" return address label. Postmarked in Woodstock, Illinois on December 20, 1975. Letter-opened at top.

2. Original comic artwork by American artist Hank Ketcham (1920-2001), hand-drawn, dedicated, and signed by him as "Hank Ketcham" at center. The pen, ink, and watercolor drawing depicts Dennis the Menace presenting a stick figure drawing with the speech bubble: "I don't draw too good…but I'm fast!" Inscribed beneath "Hand Made in Switzerland 'specially for the Friedmans! Warm regards - Hank Ketcham". The cream stock paper is mounted on red construction paper, overall size 8" x 10.125". Isolated foxing, else pristine. Ketcham's popular cartoon character Dennis the Menace was modeled after his son, Dennis Ketcham (born 1946). The illustrator lived in Switzerland between 1960-1977, which explains the dedicatory message.

3. 1p TLS signed by Canadian-American cartoonist Harold Foster (1892-1982) as "Hal Foster" at center. Written in Redding, Connecticut on June 20, 1955. On watermarked cream paper with "Harold R. Foster / Lee Lane / Redding, Connecticut" letterhead, and a preprinted cachet of "Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur" at lower left. In part: "Sorry King Features would not release a Prince Valiant page to you. Frankly, I did not think they would as the pages are valuable to the forthcoming books." Expected wrinkles and a paperclip impression at lower left, else near fine. 8.5" x 11".

This lot comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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