Stripper's Guide

A portion of the stacks

NOTE: since this was posted, all the bound volumes have found new homes. 

The time has come for the Stripper to do some down-sizing. I currently have a room in my home that is primarily devoted to storing newspaper bound volumes. Many of the volumes have had the comic strips clipped out of them, but there are a few big stacks of volumes that are unclipped and pristine.

I spent a few months this spring selling some of the clipped volumes on eBay with relatively good success, and I've sold off well over a hundred of those, making a good dent in the piles. I also experimented with selling the unclipped bound volumes in the last batch of auctions, and they do quite well, too ($40-75 high bids). But running auctions on eBay is time-consuming, and the fees are substantial. So before I go ahead with more auctions, I thought I'd offer the unclipped volumes to you folks, at a price below what you'll be able to get them on eBay.


Minneapolis Tribune: 4/26, 7/30, 7/31, 10/37, 8/38, 3/40, 1-2/44*, 2-3/44*, 10-11/44*, 1-2/45*, 10-11/45*, 11-12/45*, 1/46, 7/46, 8/46, 12/46, 4/47, 5/47, 1/50, 3/50, 5/50, 7/50, 8/50, 9/50, 11/50, 2/51, 3/51, 1/52, 2/52, 4/52, 6/52, 7/52, 8/52, 11/52, 7/53, 9/53, 12/53

Minneapolis Star: 10-11/43*, 10-11/45*, 11-12/45*, 7-8/46*, 1-2/47*, 2-3/47*, 4-5/47*, 5-6/47*, 8/47, 9/47, 10/47, 11/47, 8/51, 11/51, 1/52, 5/52, 3/53, 6/53, 7/53, 10/53, 12/53, 3/54, 5/55, 3/56, 5/65

* month and a half volume

To give you an idea of contents, here are the strips in a few volumes I picked at random:

Minneapolis Star February 17 - March 1947: Dick Tracy, Terry and the Pirates, Bringing Up Father, Winniw Winkle, You Solve It (rare local strip, became Lance Lawson later), Gasoline Alley, Li'l Abner, Jane Arden, Abbie an' Slats, Elmo, The Gumps, Harold Teen, Grin and Bear It, Off the Record, Yesterdays (local panel by Frank Wing)

Minneapolis Star May 1952: Dick Tracy, Mutt and Jeff, Abbie an' Slats, Li'l Abner, Gasoline Alley, Little Orphan Annie, Jane Arden, Terry and the Pirates, Bringing Up Father, Little Debbie, Winnie Winkle, Donald Duck, Mopsy, Peanuts, Grin and Bear It, Off the Record, Double-Take, Just a Moment

Minneapolis Tribune January 1946: Blondie, Popeye, Smilin' Jack, Smitty, Candy, Mary Worth, Mandrake the Magician, Room and Board, Henry, Mopsy, Cuties (billed as Girligraphs in this paper)

Minneapolis Tribune March 1950: Henry, Smorgy (local strip), Steve Canyon, Mary Worth, Blondie, Rip Kirby, Scarlet O'Neil, Candy, Smilin' Jack, Roy Rogers, They'll Do It Every Time, Mopsy, The Man Who, The Neighbors, Bobby Sox.

Minneapolis Tribune March 1951: Henry, Smorgy (local strip), Steve Canyone, Mary Worth, Blondie, Rip Kirby, Scarlet O'Neil, Sandy Hill, Smilin' Jack, Mark Trail, The Neighbors, They'll Do It Every Time, Bobby Sox

Something notable about the Tribune and Star is that they printed most of their daily strips in 5 columns, not the newspaper norm at the time of 4 columns. That means all these great strips are bigger and clearer than you'd find them in other papers.

If you are interested in purchasing some or all of these bound volumes please contact me directly (strippersguide@gmail.com). I am thinking that a price of $30 each per volume is a really good bargain (I often get that much for clipped volumes on eBay!), and I may sweeten the deal a bit further if you wanted all of them. You are, of course, responsible for shipping costs, which I can estimate for you if you send me your address. If you are in Florida, save the shipping by coming to pick them up, or if you are someplace I wouldn't mind spending the day, I might just be willing to deliver them for gas money.

PS: if you are interested in clipped volumes from the 1890s to 1970s, that still offer great headlines, ads, movies, celebrities, sports, etc, etc, etc, at bargain prices, let me know and I'll send you my next list. Some bound volumes available for as little as $5!