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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
 Posted - 05/22/2007 : 4:59:49 PM
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In a 2 month period late in 1967, catalyst Robert Crumb made a bold move, conceiving and drawing a comic book that would become a prototype and inspiration for dozens of underground (UG) comix that swiftly followed (Rosenkranz 2002).
The four color cover for the first printing of Zap Comix #1 was printed by celebrated Beat poet and novelist Charles Plymell. The “the technical problems were endless… the format remained the same for many years in the comix trade, but it was in a sense arbitrary, because it was the maximum size of the [WWII] Multilith 1250 (Plymell, in Rosenkranz 2002).” Still it set a standard 7x10 size for most UGs that followed (Rosenkranz 2002). As the popular legend goes, this comic was manually assembled and stapled in Robert Crumb’s apartment, and distributed in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco out of a baby stroller (but see also a Heritage auction featuring Donahue’s original notes and sales records).
With the publication of Zap Comix #1, undergrounds had their popular reception and an avant garde art movement in comic book form rapidly coalesced around the counterculture of San Francisco (Kennedy 1982). Zap Comix #1 (Plymell) was the book that inspired so many other artists to do their own comix and that is why it garnered #7 in Jerry Weist’s (2004) 100 Greatest Comic Books, surpassing mainstream powerhouses like Fantastic Four #1, Amazing Fantasy #15 (pictured on the cover), and Detective Comics #27.
There is some debate about the precise number of copies that were printed and more debate about how many survive today. Apex Novelties’ Don Donahue has stated that the original print run was approximately 4,500-5,000 copies (Fogel 1999). In an essay in his book Hand on the Doorknob (2000; titled “Curled in Character”); Plymell placed the total number printed at approximately 1,500 copies. Regardless, it is known that approximately 500 copies were destroyed during the July [May; per Fogel 1999] 1970 Mowry’s Opera House fire in San Francisco, CA.
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Edited by - oldmilwaukee6er on 05/25/2007 11:21:03 AM
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:02:17 PM
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Mowry’s Opera House originally opened in 1879 and was located at the corner of Grove and Laguna Streets. The building had a very colorful history to say the least... it served as a temporary City Hall and Coroner’s Office following the 1906 earthquake and fire (SF Museum); it was a boxing arena, where John Sullivan fought Gentleman Jim Corbett (Fogel 1999); during the early 1910-20s it served as a popular middle-class nightclub (SF Public Library); vaudeville acts played there (Fogel 1999); and toward the 40s-50s there was a candy factory on the top floor (Fogel 1999).
Similar to The Haight, the 1960s saw Mowry’s located in a declining neighborhood, as “white flight” to sprawling suburbia led to urban exodus. Donahue rented loft-space in the old Opera House to rock bands, nude dancers, and another publishing outfit…Rip Off Press (Kennedy 1982). Rock and roll photographer Herb Green had a studio there, so musicians such as the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin happened by. Fogel (1999) reports that Donahue handed the very first copy of Snatch #2 (1st), hot off the press, to the Dead's frontman Jerry Garcia. A member of Led Zepplin, remembered only as "the little, greasy one" shot a pistol through the floor (Fogel 1999). Fogel (1999) surmises it was the late John Bonham.
The only heat was in the little kitchen, which was filled with Donahue's Multilith 1250 (he bought it off Plymell), the offset camera was in the john (Fogel 1999). ROP President Fred Todd sets the scene for the fire that would eventually consume the historic building, describing it as one big electrical hazard (Fogel 1999). ROP improved matters some... bringing is heavy duty electrical cords and rewiring in places. ROP's first project at Mowry's was the second printing to Jaxon's GOD NOSE.
Donahue recalls the fire in Kennedy (1982):
“While I was printing C*nt, the loft caught fire and the roof burned off. It was a spectacular blaze, and the Rip Off people and I watched it down the street with a few six-packs. When the firemen left, their jackets were bulging with little porn books [i.e. Snatch, Jiz, & C*nt]. Miraculously, all the printing equipment was saved and Rip Off and I moved into separate quarters nearby. That was July, 1970 (Kennedy, pg. 32).”
Mowry’s Opera House (c. 1906)—It served as a temporary City Hall and Coroner’s Office following the great earthquake and fire.
(Courtesy of The Museum of the City of San Francisco Archives)
Mowry’s Opera House (c. 1967)—Prior to the fire and as Donahue would have remembered it.
(Courtesy of The San Francisco Public Library Archives)
The former site of Mowry’s Opera House (c. 1993)—The corner of Grove and Laguna Streets.
(Courtesy of The San Francisco Public Library Archives)
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Edited by - oldmilwaukee6er on 05/25/2007 11:22:40 AM |
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:11:31 PM
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Interesting stuff. The sales records is what Donahue referenced to me in an e-mail stating that it has to have been more than 1,500 copies (he estimates 4,000), but I can't remember what the sales records show were sold to the distributor (name escapes me), anyone remember?
This also verifies that it was 1970, not 1969 for the fire, as one ebay listing stated (actually the NeatStuff listing for the Plymell lot).
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Zap #2 (1st prints with "Head First" offset downward error).
Freak Brothers #1 (13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
Motor City Comics #2 (1st print).
Zap #12 (with $2.50 cover price).
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Edited by - IITravel on 05/22/2007 5:40:26 PM |
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:13:18 PM
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In October-November 2006, AN AUCTION (ending 11/05/06) for a burnt Plymell was noted and DISCUSSED on the CPG message boards. The auction spawned jokes about the book being burned, water damaged, and possibly salvaged from the 1970 loft fire.
Around November 5, 2006, I sent the auction link and the following message to Apex Novelties' Don Donahue and his respond astounded me:
Ever see this old copy before? Looks like it survived the Mowry fire (but got wet)!
eBay link
What about this one? About how many copies escaped APEX untrimmed?
eBay link
Thanks and best regards,
Justin [signature partially removed]
________________________________________________________
From: Don Donahue
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2006 4:10 AM
To: Justin
Subject: Re: Just some ZAP questions. . .
Justin -
As regards the Zap #1, your surmise is right on the money. That is totally a Plymell Zap from the wreckage of Mowry's. Just the edges are burned because it was part of a stack. I wonder how it got out of Mowry's and all the way to Minnesota. I might have had something to do with that. I don't remember selling any of those copies but maybe I did, a long time ago.
As for the Zap #0, untrimmed copies are very unusual. The entire press run of 5,000 copies was purchased in advance by the Print Mint and I personally trimmed all 5,000 of them before I delivered them. Of course, there would have been a few strays.
All best, Don
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Do you have any copies of ZAP #1 Plymell left? I am curious now whatever happened to the burned copies... there may be a market for them after all these years!
Justin
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From: Don Donahue
Sent: Monday, November 06, 2006 7:17 PM
To: Justin
Subject: BURNED PLYMELLS
I think I still have a few burned Plymells stored somewhere. The best ones would look like the one that was being auctioned. How much did that go for?
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[November 2006] **edited by Donahue prior to reply**
$350 (see above link)
I would be interested in one. It is probably the only way that I could afford this particular comic- especially if you would include a letter stating it survived the fire. Let me know what you think. JUSTIN
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[April 2007]
Subject: Re: Did you ever find...
…Any copies of Zap Comix #1 (Plymell) salvaged from the Mowry fire? Tax return season. . . Thanks, JUSTIN
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**Note** On Friday April 13 or Saturday April 14, 2007, I was informed by Dan Fogel that he had brokered the Donahue-Neatstuff sale of the Mowry-salvaged Plymells (after I sent the above message and before I received the one below).
________________________________________________________
From: Don Donahue
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 1:01 AM
To: Justin
Subject: Re: Did you ever find...
I found 9[12] of them - ranging from copies with some scorching around the edges to a couple that were basically charred remains in bags. I put [...] one aside for you and I sold the rest to a [...] dealer from back east who happened to be in town last week.
I think that the one I saved compares favorably with the copies that were auctioned on eBay. You can check out the attached scans and judge for yourself. It has almost no scorching on the front and bottom edges. Since this book also got wet, there is some of that classic washboard effect, but there are no stains. If you want it, it's $[X].
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Edited by - oldmilwaukee6er on 05/25/2007 11:21:27 AM |
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:15:51 PM
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It is now known that at least 12? partially-burned first printing copies of Zap Comix #1 were salvaged from the Mowry’s Opera House fire by Don Donahue.
Of those 12?, 11? were sold by Donahue to dealer Neatstuff Collectibles LLC around April 2007.
Of the 11?, 10? salvaged Plymells were auctioned together with a color variant Plymell- mostly missing the yellow-orange overlay- on eBay throughout May and June 2007:
May 16, 2007 (~$5,500; reserve not met)
May 24, 2007 ($2,550; reserve not met)
June 3, 2007 ($3,550; reserve not met).
In the description, the following history was offered:
Owning one Zap #1 Plymell is hard enough, right? Well the winner of this auction is also going to get another 11 Plymell Zap #1s again from Don Donahue’s personal collection…. Fogel provided me with the following history lesson-- Don Donahue’s company Rip Off Press had barely moved into their San Francisco, CA warehouse loft location in 1969 when that May, the roof caught fire. Don remembers the newspaper describing them as “hippies huddled outside with their meager belongings”. The artwork for C**t Comics was destroyed, along with many unsold books (some of which were pocketed by the firemen). Ironically, a friend of Don’s, who had invested in 500 copies of the Plymell Zap #1s, had been storing them at the loft and lost them in this fire…This fire is one of the reasons why this comic is so hard to find…. These 11 comics were salvaged from that fire! That fire marked the end of the first phase of Underground Comix….. You will be owning 1960s California Bay Area Hippie History…The pedigree of these 11 comics will be certified with 11 separate certificates ….Each certificate will be hand signed by Fogel and Donahue stating it’s the real deal; a true pedigree.
The following Mowry-salvaged copies were included in the original auction (Images Courtesy of Neatstuff Collectibles, LLC's eBay auction):
 
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Edited by - oldmilwaukee6er on 06/04/2007 11:53:51 AM |
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:20:32 PM
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Bravo, I hope to have something similar (but not as interesting) to post soon for the CPG archives.
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Zap #2 (1st prints with "Head First" offset downward error).
Freak Brothers #1 (13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
Motor City Comics #2 (1st print).
Zap #12 (with $2.50 cover price).
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:21:15 PM
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Due to my previous communications with Don (see above), one copy was reserved and sold to me. It is pictured below.
Additionally, Neatstuff held the most damaged copy out of the original auctions and it was offered to me in May 2007. During the weekend that I heard about the Fire-Sale Zaps transaction and Donahue contacting me about the reserved copy, I made Fogel promise to make certain I had a shot at one of the Neatstuff copies… but, eventually I passed on purchasing it (see image below).
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:25:46 PM
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What were they asking for the burnt one below?
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Zap #2 (1st prints with "Head First" offset downward error).
Freak Brothers #1 (13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
Motor City Comics #2 (1st print).
Zap #12 (with $2.50 cover price).
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2007 : 5:35:07 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by IITravel
The sales records is what Donahue referenced to me in an e-mail stating that it has to have been more than 1,500 copies (he estimates 4,000), but I can't remember what the sales records show were sold to the distributor (name escapes me), anyone remember?
This also verifies that it was 1970, not 1969 for the fire, as one ebay listing stated.
I recognize that there is debate about the precise number.
The Museum of the City of San Francisco confirms the Mowry burned down in 1970, Donahue (in Kennedy 1982) states July 1970. Fogel (1999) states May 1970.
There is also some information on the fire in Fogel's A BEATNIC PRESSES AHEAD article in UG!3K that I need to augment this text with. |
Edited by - oldmilwaukee6er on 05/25/2007 11:24:31 AM |
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drbenway25
Journeyman
148 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 5:01:13 PM
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quote:
Zap Comix #1 (Plymell) was the book that inspired so many other artists to do their own comix and that is why it garnered #7 in Jerry Weist’s (2004) 100 Greatest Comic Books, surpassing mainstream powerhouses like Fantastic Four #1, Amazing Fantasy #15 (pictured on the cover), and Detective Comics #27.
Just a little caveat about the Jerry Weist book. I got this as a present recently. The order of comics in this book was determined by a poll of many of the biggest names in comics and other purveyors of popular culture. It's not just the opinion of the author.
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Check out some of my collection
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a5150female
Forum Apprentice
USA
32 Posts |
Posted - 05/23/2007 : 5:36:58 PM
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| That really was well done. |
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awillis
Collector
USA
347 Posts |
Posted - 05/24/2007 : 09:00:24 AM
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A tip o' the Sherlock Holmes hunting cap to you! 
Underground at it's deepest-
Read Lost Cause Comix. |
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oldmilwaukee6er
A True Collector
USA
1615 Posts |
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Sir Real
A True Collector
USA
896 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 2:41:12 PM
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Did we all put in our token bids? Eh?
Sir Real
"Timeo Hominem Unius Libri"
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 12:23:29 PM
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Confusion as the the date of the fire persists due to page 133 in Rebel Visions. I've sent an e-mail to Don, let's see what he says...
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Zap #2 (1st prints with "Head First" offset downward error).
Freak Brothers #1 (13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
Motor City Comics #2 (1st print).
Zap #12 (with $2.50 cover price).
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2007 : 12:47:26 AM
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Well still confused, but maybe there was two fires of the Mowry Opera House, but Don just confirmed to me that the fire that happened during his printing of Cleopatra and C*nt was in 1969 causing them to be delayed (and released in 1970).
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Zap #2 (1st prints with "Head First" offset downward error).
Freak Brothers #1 (13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
Motor City Comics #2 (1st print).
Zap #12 (with $2.50 cover price).
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IITravel
A True Collector
USA
1256 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2007 : 3:53:27 PM
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Here's the update on this, the fire that burned the Zap Comix #1 (1st print) and art for C*nt was in 1969. The fire that burned down the Mowry Opera House was in 1970.
The artist futurely known as "50 cent #II (1st print)"
Looking for:
Freak Brothers #1 (numbered 13th pink paper .75 cent cover print), #2 (1st print) & (4th print w/ Blue inside front cover and "Dealer McDope game/Meat Market Bag" ad on page 49).
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The True History of the Fire-Sale Zaps
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