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1946 Milton Caniff Drawing

Value (2006) | $10,000 Insurance

GUEST:
This is Milt Caniff, the cartoonist, and my father. My father was a cartoonist in high school in Lima, Ohio, and went to Ohio State. And Milt was from Hillsborough and went to Ohio State. And Dad said, "Well, if my buddy Milt is this good, maybe I'd better do something else for a living." So he went into advertising. He was in advertising in Columbus, Ohio, and was president of the Advertising Club in 1946 and asked Milt to come out. By that time, Milt was the cartoonist for Terry and the Pirates. And so he called Milt and Milt said, "Well, I'll do you one better. I'll come out to Columbus and I'll introduce my own comic strip to you, my new one." So he came to Columbus to the club, and in front of all the club, he started to draw this. And he drew Steve Canyon, Copper Calhoun, and Feeta-Feeta, and that was really the introduction before the comic strip. And, of course, he gave it to my father afterwards.

APPRAISER:
So, this has been in your family the entire time?

GUEST:
Yeah, in fact, my father let me take it to college for two years to hang on my wall.

APPRAISER:
Amazing. You know, Milton Caniff, one of the greatest of all comic strip artists. He was called the Rembrandt of the comic strip.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
One of the most popular of all time. In 1946, he had just finished "Terry and the Pirates," which was probably the most popular comic strip at that time. But he wanted to own his own comic strip characters.

GUEST:
Exactly.

APPRAISER:
So, he came up with Steve Canyon,

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
which would become a very, very popular strip, and it would run for over 40 years. Right up until his death in 1988.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
So, here's Steve. I really feel sorry for Steve, don't you?

GUEST:
Yeah, it's a tough life.

APPRAISER:
Yeah, tough life. It's an amazing, amazing drawing. It's pastel on paper.

GUEST:
Right.

APPRAISER:
Look at the colors. They just pop out. I mean, these are 60 years old. It's just beautiful. When I saw it, my eyes lit up. I love comic strip stuff. And this is just so cool. And it's huge.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
It's, you know, three foot by four foot.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
What makes it even more special is the fact that this is his debut.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
This is the first appearance of Steve Canyon.

GUEST:
Yes, it is.

APPRAISER:
I wouldn't insure it for anything less than $10,000.

GUEST:
Really?

APPRAISER:
Absolutely. It's a masterpiece by a master comic strip artist.

GUEST:
Well, it has a lot of sentimental value.

Support provided by: Learn more

Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Simeon Lipman
Collectibles, Sports Memorabilia
Appraised value (2006)
$10,000 Insurance
Featured In
Philadelphia, Hour 1 (#1104)
Event
Philadelphia, PA (August 05, 2006)
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Period
20th Century
Form
Drawing
Material
Paper , Pastel

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.

Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.

Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.

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