Collectors always wonder if there might ever be another pedigree collection discovery. Recently, CGC recognized a new Golden Age collection as such and it includes numerous key books with some being the highest certified examples. The original-owner Golden Age collection will be offered by Heritage in their February 22-23 New York auction and has been named the Billy Wright Collection.
"The Billy Wright books are just beautiful," said Paul Litch, Vice-President of CGC. "There are many copies in the collection that might end up being the highest graded copies we've seen so far and some of the keys might be second only to the Edgar Church copies. A good portion of the collection contains early pre-hero books you just never see and once he started collecting hero books, most of the major golden age keys are present. They have a nice feel to them, nice over-all page quality and a distinctive scent. The Billy Wright books are an exciting find and absolutely worthy of being recognized as a pedigree by CGC," Litch added.
"This collection has 45 of the Top 100 Golden Age books. There are sixty-seven #1 issues and thirty-three #2 issues. When I first laid eyes on the collection, I was struck by the high percentage of keys and the almost complete absence of less collectible titles," said Lon Allen, Managing Director of Comics and Comic Art at Heritage.
In all, the Billy Wright collection consists of approximately 340 comics, almost all from 1936-1941, with just a handful of later 1940s issues. Almost every publisher of the day is represented. The earliest comic in the collection is New Comics #2, cover-dated January 1936.
Billy Wright was 11 years old when Action Comics #1 hit the newsstands to begin the Golden Age of comics. He grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, attended The College of William and Mary, and then had a long career as a chemical engineer for DuPont. He passed away in 1994.
His comics were stored in the basement of his home, stacked on shelves in a storage closet, and remained there until his wife's recent passing.
While a couple of comics have Mr. Wright's name on the cover, the vast majority are distinguished by having no cover markings of any kind, a fact that is sure to be welcomed by collectors.
While many of the books are still going through the certification process, new arrivals are being added continuously to the auction preview at HA.com/7054.
