'Antiques Roadshow' guest stunned by valuation of rare Superman sketch that his 'wife does not like'
A guest on "Antiques Roadshow" received a surprise appraisal for a drawing of Superman that he found rolled up in his father's closet. Thanks to the keen eye of the guest, he was able to rescue the item that came from none other than the creators of the superhero, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Noting the significance of the early sketch, the show's expert, Philip Weiss, subsequently placed a $6,000 auction estimate on it.
In the episode, the guest shared the incredible provenance of the item and how he came into possession of it. "This is endorsed to my father, Ralph Andy, by the inventors of Superman. He was a young enlistee in World War II. Somewhere in his run-up to going overseas, he was at the Cleveland Stage Door Canteen, where they entertained the troops before they went overseas. The guests were Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the inventors of Superman. They drew a picture and they endorsed it to my father," he told Weiss.
He further explained that the two creators of Superman had signed it, and it wasn't his father who had handed it down to him. "I found it in a closet. It was all rolled up and you could see some of the wrinkles, perhaps," he said.
Weiss added to the provenance of the great comic book superhero and its creators. "It's a great piece, and Siegel and Shuster did create Superman, but a lot of people think Action Comics #1 is his first appearance, but actually Siegel and Shuster did a five-part mimeographed fanzine called the Reign of Superman. And that's kind of attributed to being the first appearance of Superman," he explained.
Coming to the sketch, the expert noted that the superhero was seen in one of their favorite poses. "Joe used to always love doing the profiles. It's done in either pastel or crayon. It looks like a kind of reddish brown crayon. Most often, I see them in pen and ink or pencil," he added. Weiss further told the guest that drawings from the artists are very desirable in the market, but there are many such drawings floating around. "You usually don't see them signed by both. It's more often signed by Joe Shuster, and the fact that they were both there together is cool," Weiss noted.
The size and scale of the drawing also impressed Weiss, and he assured the guest that the wrinkling of the paper wasn't an issue, because it adds to its history. Coming to the appraisal, the expert estimated that the item could bring about $4,000 to $6,000 at an auction. Surprised by the number, the guest said, "Oh, that's great!"
In the end, the guest shared that his wife didn't like the sketch, but things may change now. "My wife does not like this piece, and I've had to move it into our bedroom where she's even less happy about it," he said in the end.
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