ORIGINAL ART: Heros, 3 Garth Sundance and 3 sketches

Eagle 24 August 1963 Vol 14:34

The second auction this month to feature multiple Frank Bellamy originals is from Compalcomics. As usual Malcolm Philips offers a listing at both his Compalcomics and TheSaleroom

HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 24 August 1963 (Vol. 14:34)

The image at the top of this article shows the 25th episode of the story "The Eagle of the Fifth". There is a slight error in the listing, if you're trying to match this to the comic. It should say 1963 not 1962. This is the first time I've seen this original art and it looks pretty good - especially as Heros is so scarce! The auctioneer's estimate is £4,000- £4,500 and the last one sold at auction went for over £7000.

It is described as:

Heros The Spartan double-page original artwork (1962) [sic 1963] painted and signed by Frank Bellamy from The Eagle Vol. 14, No 34, 1962. [sic 1963]The Men of the Jackal's screaming warriors attack Heros, Berbrix and their small band as the traitor, Guthrac, strikes… Bright Pelikan inks on board. 27 x 18 ins

GARTH: Sundance - 3 episodes

Garth: Sundance Episodes E180, E182 and E191

These three strips are all from the first that Bellamy drew in the Daily Mirror newspaper. Bellamy took over from John Allard on 12 July 1971 (#E162) and this first story ran to 11 October 1971 (#E226). Episodes from this story are certainly rarer than most and are one of my favourite in the Garth run.

The auction is estimated to reach £700-£900 but that is way under what I think will happen - especially as at the time of writing it's reached £1,120! Malcolm described them like this:

Garth: 3 original artworks (1971) by Frank Bellamy from the Daily Mirror 2nd/4th/14th August 1971. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. General George Armstrong Custer leads the U.S. Seventh Cavalry with Garth as his Chief Scout in search of Sitting Bull. Indian ink on board. 20 x 18 ins (x 3)

BELLAMY SKETCH: To be or not to be

"To be or not to be"

This sketch, thankfully, has provenance as it comes from the Bob Monkhouse collection. The auction is described thus:

Frank Bellamy original signed sketch (1940s) 'To Be or Not To Be'. The Catering Corps Sergeant in a dilemma over the troops tinned rations menu. (Probably hung in the Sgt's Mess!). From the Bob Monkhouse archive. Indian ink and wash on card. 14 x 10 ins

The Sergeant has written "Menu for tomorrow" and "How to cut up margarine into portions to look like butter"  and I love some of the descriptions on the cans - "Kippers - Depth-Charge Brand" or "Salmon - Fresh from Hong Kong". We know Bellamy ran drawing classes before the war and we also know he is seen in some photos drawing whilst in his uniform, but where or if this ever appeared in print, I have no idea! I don't think the title is very clear "To be or not to be" or it's his best cartoon work - which were very good when he drew for the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. The auctioneer's estimate is £60-£80 with an opening bid of £55 but so far no-one has bid

BELLAMY SKETCH: 2 Portraits

2 charcoal portraits

 Finally this interesting early work, I say early because the lips on the woman are very crude and nothing like the Bellamy we see in the 1930s newspaper work or later. This might possibly be his earliest work that still exists!

They are described as:

Frank Bellamy (1940s). Two original charcoal pencil sketches, both signed in capitals 'Frank A. Bellamy', probably of his parents. 9 x 13 ins, 10 x 14 ins (2)

 I think Malcolm is being ambitious with his estimate of £250-£350 but I've been wrong before! And whether they might be Bellamy's parents I have no idea. I've forward the idea to Tess Bellamy to see if she could comment, but the image of the man looks to be of someone in uniform.  As Horace Bellamy was born in 1885 he would have been 45 years of age in 1930, for example, so I wonder. But let's see what turns up


AUCTION SUMMARY

HEROS THE SPARTAN
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £3600
ENDING PRICE: £5,700
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019

GARTH: Sundance 3 episodes
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £640
ENDING PRICE: £1,180
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019

BELLAMY SKETCH: To be or not to be
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £55
ENDING PRICE: £125
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019

BELLAMY SKETCHES 2 Portraits
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £230
ENDING PRICE: "Passed"
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019

Frank Bellamy and the Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse

I was looking for a copy of the Bob Monkhouse 'wall' of art and realised I have never blogged about it beyond mentioning it in passing back in 2011. So let me correct that straight away.

A screenshot from "Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse" BBC4

The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse was first broadcast on 3 January 2011  and ran for 90 minutes. The blurb for the show was:

The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.

The anonymous writer who contributed to IMDB said it better:

When Bob Monkhouse's widow died and his house was being prepared for market, the amazing extent of his private collection of video and audio recordings was realized. Among them were many treasures which had previously been believed to be lost to the nation. This films delves into just some of the highlights of that trove, and reveals the multi-layered man behind the glossy TV persona.

It's not currently available on the BBC iPlayer or on YouTube (there are many Monkhouse videos on YouTube) but is repeated from time to time.

So what's the significance to Frank Bellamy? You'll know, if you follow this blog, that many Bellamy originals have now come on the market from Bob Monkhouse's extensive collection.

A quick tour of one corridor in Bob Monkhouse's art collection

 As the camera pans down the corridor we can clearly see some Bellamy - the three Garth "Sundance" strips (see below) plus what looks like "Heros the Spartan" below them and the fantasy piece you've previously seen here. 3 Garth "Sundance" story strips (E206, E212 and E223) came to auction previously from Bob Monkhouse's archive so we are yet to see these three and of course, the family may decide to keep them.

Garth: Sundance E180

Garth: Sundance E182

Garth: Sundance E191

I think Alan Burrows saved me a lot of work when he showed us some of the Heros strips that Bob Monkhouse owned. Episode #21 of the Heros story "The Slave Army" (published in Eagle Vol 16:29  17 July 1965)

Eagle Vol 16:29  17 July 1965

and also from correspondence with Bob, Alan showed us this 'fantasy illustration'.

Fantasy illustration

I know for a fact that this is not all Bob owned (especially as some have come up for auction in the last few years) but several fans remember this documentary and the fact so many Bellamy pieces were identifiable. There! I've now blogged about that too!