Edgar Church
Encyclopedia
Edgar Church born in Connecticut
, was an artist who worked independently and eventually for the telephone company
in Colorado
illustrating
commercial telephone book advertisements, precursors to Yellow Page
ads.
Church kept thousands of miscellaneous periodicals in his Colorado home to use as references for his art. From these magazines he would clip images
which he would store
in one of hundreds of labeled boxes. The collection of comic book
s that he amassed, later known as the "Edgar Church collection" or the "Mile High collection", is the most famous and valuable comic book collection known to surface in the history of comic book collecting. The collection consisted of between 18,000 and 22,000 comic books, most of them in high quality grades, and was discovered and bought in 1977 by Chuck Rozanski
of Mile High Comics
. About 99% of it was later sold by him to various collectors. The collection is famed for holding the highest quality copies of many Golden Age
comic books, including the most highly sought after comic book of all—the best known copy of Action Comics #1
.
Edgar Church was married twice and had one child with each of his wives. Church died in 1978 at age 89.
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, was an artist who worked independently and eventually for the telephone company
Telephone company
A telephone company is a service provider of telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications access. Many were at one time nationalized or state-regulated monopolies...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
illustrating
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
commercial telephone book advertisements, precursors to Yellow Page
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
ads.
Church kept thousands of miscellaneous periodicals in his Colorado home to use as references for his art. From these magazines he would clip images
Clip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
which he would store
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
in one of hundreds of labeled boxes. The collection of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s that he amassed, later known as the "Edgar Church collection" or the "Mile High collection", is the most famous and valuable comic book collection known to surface in the history of comic book collecting. The collection consisted of between 18,000 and 22,000 comic books, most of them in high quality grades, and was discovered and bought in 1977 by Chuck Rozanski
Chuck Rozanski
Charles Rozanski is a German-American retailer and columnist, known as the President and CEO of the Denver, Colorado-based Mile High Comics Inc., and a columnist for the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Early life:...
of Mile High Comics
Mile High Comics
Mile High Comics is an online retailer and a chain of 4 Colorado comic book stores founded by Chuck Rozanski in 1969 from his parents' basement in Colorado Springs, Colorado....
. About 99% of it was later sold by him to various collectors. The collection is famed for holding the highest quality copies of many Golden Age
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
comic books, including the most highly sought after comic book of all—the best known copy of Action Comics #1
Action Comics 1
Action Comics #1 is the first issue of the comic book series Action Comics. It features the first appearance of several comic book heroes, most notably the Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster creation Superman.-Contents:...
.
Edgar Church was married twice and had one child with each of his wives. Church died in 1978 at age 89.