First Year Little Orphan Annie Daily Strip, July 3, 1925

Although Harold Gray kept his original strips of Little Orphan Annie, he ultimately donated almost all of them to Boston University's library. Of the very few early examples that are in private hands, most apparently have been trimmed down and have little or no borders. This one has its untrimmed original borders, which is somewhat important since works on paper or illustration board age inward from the borders. Where the art comes right up to the edges, it is the actual artwork that discolors with time instead of the borders which once provided some protection.

In his third edition of his Comic Art Price Guide, Jerry Weist stated that this was the earliest Little Orphan Annie in existence [outside of the Boston University library, of course]. But, in fact, the original of the Annie for July 1, 1925 is also in private hands. I considered bidding on it each of the two times it was auctioned by Howard Lowery in the 1990s, but the paper was pretty badly discolored and perhaps brittle, so I passed on it. In 2019, an Annie original from 1924 turned up. So, my original is now, at best, the third earliest known in private hands.

Even though the art of this original is admittedly not as beautiful as that of a few other originals by Gray, the narrative is very representative of the title -- Annie shows initiative, self-reliance, and good character in her request that the money that Daddy Warbucks would have spent for a grand celebration instead would be used to entertain other undrpriviledged children.