MAD First UK Edition sells for £37.89

A First UK issue of MAD Magazine from 1959 sold on eBay.co.uk for £37.89 on 29th Dec 2009. The auction attracted 10 bids for a copy advertised as carrying some spine wear and a fold across the centre of the front cover, where the magazine had at some point been folded.

But the better buy was probably the run of the first 11 UK issues (1959-1961) of MAD, which went at auction on eBay for a total of £42.59 (£35.59 plus delivery) some three weeks later (18 Jan 2010), attracting 12 bidders.

All issues were claimed to be in remarkably good condition for their age, with all the bindings perfect and a couple of copies said to be near MINT.

1953 First Edition PLAYBOY MAGAZINE sells for over $5000

An original first edition (Volume 1, #1) of Playboy published December 1953, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover, sold for US $5,017.17 (about £3,042) via a 10-day eBay auction that ended on 30th November 2009. The item was entered at $9.99 and attracted 50 bids.
   
The 42 page copy - which came from an American estate - was in good condition, with only what was described as minor wear to the corners, a couple of light finger print smudges on front cover and a couple of dents at the top of the back cover. Good spine and original staples. Centerfold intact and in great shape. Overall given "a strong 8 out of 1-10" by the seller and "not mint but about as good as it gets".

It's perhaps a prime example of what makes a magazine collectible and worth a considerable amount of money, potentially, to the right buyer. Being a first issue of such a well-known magazine would have attracted a high price anyway, but add to that the featured "Sweetheart of the Month" being Marilyn Monroe and it takes on a significant extra dimension as a collectible.

Additionally, this copy had a red star printed on the cover close to the P of Playboy. Very few of these were printed, making them even rarer than a normal first edition. It put this copy into the stratosphere of collectible magazines.

Beyond the wonderful cover of Marilyn Monroe, here's what your $5000 would have bought you (taken from the seller's original advertisement):

PICTORIALS: What makes Marilyn; Open Letter from California is 3 pages of an unnamed model swimming nude.

FEATURES: First appearance by Mr. Playboy, Rabbit Bachelor on page 2, Miss Gold-Digger of 1953 by Bob Norman, Strip Quiz, Tales from the Decameron (new translation of Boccaccio) by Norman Holland, Playboy's Party Jokes, VIP on Sex (Cartoons by Virgil Franklin Partch II), Introducing Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Dorsey Brothers (Tommy and Jimmy) by Arthur Silver, Matanzas Love Affair by Bob Roderick, A Horseman in the Sky by Ambrose Bierce, The Return of the All-Purpose Back (featuring Red Grange) by George Jennings, and, Desk Designs for the Modern Office (!).

Clearly this isn't typical of what you might expect to get for a vintage issue of Playboy or any other magazine you may uncover yourself (though Playboy is certainly one of the more collectible brands). Here you have the combination of factors - a vintage magazine in very good condition, a much sought after brand (Playboy), a first edition, an iconic character on the cover and featured (Monroe), an added rarity factor (the 'red star' issue) and currently probably the best method of attracting buyers (online via eBay) to get the price up.

As for the price, some will say it's crazy, others will kick themselves that they missed the auction as they might have paid double! Like most collectibles, what someone is willing to pay seldom bears a relationship with any tangible value the item once had!

Magazines are extremely collectible!

We're not saying that magazines are not considered a collectible item, but let's say they have lagged behind books and many other items. And yet magazines offer enjoyment, interest and a collectibility factor that goes beyond many other items.

As mentioned in my introduction on our home page, something fascinated me about magazines even before I entered my teens. It has something to do with the way they grab a moment in time and capture it within their pages, often both in words and pictures. And then there are the adverts. They bring back many memories and often a smile as you are reminded of how things were "back then".

People often end up with a collection of magazines because of a hobby, and because that hobby was important to them, the magazines were stored nicely, perhaps even in binders. They remain close to how they were the last time they were read, apart from perhaps some yellowing of the pages. And yet how many people decide it's time to clear out the loft and simply say "this lot has to go". In one hasty move, a lovely collection is trashed, and that is very sad.

There are those of course who will have the same hobby and would love those magazines simply for that reason, but magazines are collectible in their own right. Of course the condition of the magazine is important, and a magazine that is both old and in good condition is likely to appeal to a collector almost irrespective of the subject matter.

It doesn't, however, follow that only old magazines are collectible, though a more recent publication will generally need to be a First Edition to be of interest. A copy of the first issue of Rail Express Magazine (June 1996), said to be "in good condition", was auctioned privately via eBay in March 2007 for £10.99. That will be lower than a trade seller would generally be expected to charge, since they have to hold the stock, sometimes for several years.

Prices are, of course, entirely market led. As with the vast majority of collectibles, what it's worth is simply down to what anyone is willing to pay. And some people may be willing to pay a good amount for all sorts of obscure reasons - it was published in the month of their birth; it features their grandfather; it pictures the very guitar they now have sitting proudly in their music room... or it's simply an important piece in the jigsaw that is a collector's personal collection.

Whether you are inspired by the contents and subject matter of certain publications, or see the magazine as a collectible in its own right, it can certainly be a rewarding hobby. And who knows, it could even become a modest investment for the future.