An upcoming auction of Books, Documents and Manuscripts from Nottingham-based auction house Mellors & Kirk, not only includes first edition James Bond novels and CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien rarities, but two pages of Dan Dare art by the late Keith Watson and a cartoon by Norman Thelwell, too.
On offer in the auction, taking place on Tuesday 6th February and Wednesday 7th February in person and online via The-Saleroom, are pages are from the strip, “The Moonsleepers”, pages from the first and final episode of the 22 episode adventure published in 1965.
“The Moonsleepers” written by David Motton with art by Keith Watson, first ran in The Eagle Volume 16, No. 7 to Volume 16, No. 29, and sees the villainous Xel, who made his debut in “Operation Time-Trap”, capture Sir Hubert, aided The Mekon. He uses him as a hostage while preparing to invade Earth from his base on Triton, one of the moons of Neptune. The Mekon, meanwhile, prepares to launch his invasion of Venus. Dan and Digby discover the twin plots and after being captured, they escape and return to Earth in a stolen spaceship to warn Spacefleet of the impending invasions.
The first is the back page for The Eagle, volume 16, issue 7, cover dated 13th February, 1965, inscribed, watercolour and pen-and-ink on fashion plate board, applied with two pasted orange paper tabs, 54 x 38cm, along with a copy of the original comic itself.
The second page on offer is the cover art from the same “Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future” story, for the front cover of The Eagle, volume 16, issue 29, cover dated 17th July, 1965, inscribed, again watercolour and pen-and-ink on fashion plate board, applied with two pasted orange paper tabs in lieu of title and sub-title lettering, 54 x 38cm, along with a copy of the original comic itself.
The boards have some fading, online photographs suggesting the cover art is in better condition than the back page for sale.
The auction also includes an original cartoon by Thelwell, first edition books, Christmas card lots, prints, recipe books and more spanning decades of British publishing.
Mellors & Kirk was founded in Nottingham in 1993. One of the leading regional Fine Art Auctioneers, they hold regular auctions of antiques and fine art, and regularly conduct free antiques and fine art valuation days across the Midlands in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. You can also visit their Nottingham Auction House to receive a free valuation in person.
• Books, Documents and Manuscripts Auction, Sunday 6th February 2024, The Auction House,Gregory Street,Nottingham, NG7 2NL |
Tel: 0115 979 0000 | Online at mellorsandkirk.com | View the Catalogue on The-Saleroom – you must be registered to bid
• Check out our Dan Dare profile page on downthetubes
Web Links
• Read Martin Crookall’s review of “The Moonsleepers”
• The Science Museum holds a page of “The Moonsleepers” from Eagle Volume 16, No. 8
• Read our list of currently available Dan Dare collections
• Dan Dare collections and related books on AmazonUK (downthetubes Affiliate Link)
• Read our checklist of Dan Dare comic stories published to date, compiled by John Freeman, Jeremy Briggs, Richard Sheaf and Steve Winders (Google Doc, further information always welcome)
Dan Dare © Dan Dare Corporation
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: Art and Illustration, Auctions, Books, British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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