Huge British comics archive begins auction run
Wowsers. First instalment of North East collector’s comics stash sells for £100,000. Tony Henderson reports
It was a sum which the Beano’s Lord Snooty would not have sniffed at as bidders at a Tyneside comics auction splashed out more than £100,000, including fees.
The two-day sale of 500 lots of comics material by Newcastle auctioneers Anderson & Garland was the first in a series based on the vast collection of Peter Hansen, who grew up in Byker in the city.
His collection is rated as the biggest assemblage of British comics and original artwork in the world, and the sale attracted international interest.
Among the standout results was the Beano Annual No. 1, which sold for £3,125, significantly above expectations of its £1,000–£1,800 estimate and in which Lord Snooty was a founder character in 1938.
Other notable highlights included Marvelman No. 25 by L. Miller & Son, which achieved £1,750. Roy of the Rovers original artwork, signed by Bobby Robson, Peter Beardsley and Matt Busby, sold for £400.
An original painted artboard by celebrated comic artist Frank Bellamy for The Happy Warrior: The True Life Story of Sir Winston Churchill sold for £1,690. The strip, written by Clifford Makins, appeared on the back page of the Eagle Comic during 1957 and 1958.
Another original Bellamy artboard for the Thunderbirds series achieved £1,430.
The same price was realised for eight pages of original artwork by David Law for the Dandy character Corporal Clott, dating from late 1969 to early 1970.
John Bullock-Anderson, head of comics at Anderson & Garland said: “This result shows just how important Peter Hansen’s collection is. It represents decades of careful collecting and an extraordinary passion for British comics.
“The response from bidders local, nationally and internationally has been tremendous and the prices achieved reflect the historical importance of the material. The remarkable thing is that we are only at the very start of this series of sales.”
Peter Hansen’s archive, which includes more than 40,000 comics and 20,000 pieces of original artwork, charts the complete history of British comics from the early 20th century onwards.
It adds up to an estimated 40,000 comics, 20,000 artworks, toys and other memorabilia.
Peter moved to Northumberland where he could store his collection, mostly in a barn.
He had continued collecting as he built up his own environmental engineering company after moving to Canada and sold it to an American firm before coming back to the UK.
Now in retirement he is leaving Northumberland to return to Canada and decided to sell up.
The range of comics is now valued as a social history, charting changes in life and attitudes in Britain throughout the 20th century.
Peter had hoped that the collection could be kept intact and preserved for the nation. But despite many efforts that has not proved possible.