Giles summer cartoon print rarity offered on eBay

By John Freeman on January 9, 2026 • ( 0 )

Two rare items relating to long-admired cartoonist Carl Giles are currently up for sale on Ebay from a longtime collector.

“It’s time to let someone else enjoy them,” says Bruce Sellers.

Carl Giles framed one-off print 1978 from Daily Express building Fleet Street

The first item is a large one-off Giles print promoting a Daily Express competition, that was commissioned and hung in the foyer of the Express Building on Fleet Street, in the 1980s. It measures 530mm x 360mm, and the frame size is 640mm x 470mm.

The print is of a cartoon first published on 25th July 1978; a seaside image and relates to the then Daily Express promotional campaign which saw the “Express Girls” tour the country, asking simple questions of the public, for which they could win prizes.

The gentleman is saying to the young lady in the hole in the sand: “Here, stick this Daily Express hat on – here comes my wife!”

“It came to me from the publican of a public house nearby, who took this and a second Giles print, in-lieu of payment for a debt – mistakenly thinking they were genuine original cartoons. ..

The two Giles prints had sat with a large number of Jak cartoons in the foyer on Fleet Street, all in matching gold metal frames, with green mounts.

Rarer still, perhaps, is the second item – the matching printing plate from the newspaper and its respective newspaper cartoon, cut out.

“It took me a few years of searching to locate the matching Printing Plate,” Bruce reveals.

If you’re a Giles collector, then this might be right up your street, especially if you’re after some sunnier weather right now!

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.