John

1952 Bowman Baseball Original Artwork, Proofs, And Retouched Cards

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Today, a piece of Bowman history I learned from the Spring 1982 edition of Baseball Cards – The Complete Sports Collectors’ Magazine. The initial artwork of Willard Ramsdell for his 1952 Bowman card showcased him as a member of the Reds. However, a trade to the Cubs for Frank Hiller on January 3, 1952, prompted a retouching of the artwork before the set’s release.

In the Fall of 2014, Robert Edward Auctions sold the original artwork for $2700.

When I shared the cards on Twitter, Keith Olbermann added, “Same for Cliff Mapes. The first proof has him in a browns uniform. Second has him in Detroit (and it’s 1953 sized). Issued card has him with Detroit.” He also shared this photo.

An Incredible 1953-54 Briggs Meats Mickey Mantle

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This 1953-54 Briggs Meats Mickey Mantle has the most manufacturer’s packaging borders I’ve ever seen. This one was offered for sale in December 2004. Do you think it was cut for grading?

The Mickey Mantle is the most popular card in the already scarce 1953-54 Briggs Meats 40-card, Washington D.C. regional set. This unique example measured 4-1/2” x 4-3/4” and features the same image of the mantle used by the Dan-Dee and Stalh-Meyer regional issues. According to PSA, the set includes “28 players from the Washington Senators and 12 players from the three New York teams (Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, New York Yankees).”

To put the popularity and cost of this set into perspective, in May 2009, REA sold nine panels, including the following Mantle/Bauer, for $82,250. Granted, the cards were usually hand-cut from the panels, which drove the high price over a decade ago.

However, Memory Lane Inc. did sell this PSA authentic graded Mantle for >$30k in late 2021.

36 1960 Topps Baseball 2nd Series Cello Packs

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These 36 1960 Topps Baseball 2nd Series cello packs, encapsulated by GAI, were offered for sale together back in 2004.

They were described as originating from the 1960 cello box find by “Mr. Mint” more than a decade earlier. The consignor purchased these packs directly from Rosen.

The 2nd Series numbers in 1960 ran from 111 to 198, including #’s 136 Kaat, 148 Yastrzemski, and 160 Mantle/Boyer.

These days, PSA-slabbed 1960 Topps 2nd Series cello packs are ~$2k.

1938 Signal Oil Oakland Oaks Stamps Set and Album

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Only a few complete 24-stamp sets of 1938 Signal Oil Oakland Oaks Stamps are known to the hobby, including this one, which was auctioned off in December 2005.

The 24 Pacific Coast League player stamps in this lot were each mounted in their original album.

The collection’s album has a big scuff on the left side, but the stamps were described as in excellent to near-mint condition.

George Woodruff’s Ted Williams Portrait Used For Topps And Fleer Cards

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Here’s George Woodruff’s portrait of Ted Williams that Fleer used as the photo on the box and wrapper of their 1959 set!

Mastro sold the 8” x 10” portrait in July 1998.

And yes, Topps used the same picture on the Splendid Splinter’s 1954 (#250), 1955, and 1956 Topps cards.

In terms of dating the photo, Memory Lane Inc. sold a Type 1 example for $1,501.20 in October 2017 and estimated the issue date right after Williams’ return from his final 1953 Korean War stint.

Bill Russell’s 1957-58 Topps Basketball Canceled Paycheck

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Back in 2011, at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago, IL, Topps held an auction exclusively for VIP ticket holders on Wednesday, August 3, at 2:30 PM. It featured “10 magnificent TOPPS items direct from the Vault!” 

One of the items was this 1957-58 Topps basketball card Bill Russell canceled paycheck.

Here’s how they described it: “Direct from Topps legendary vault, comes Hall of Famer Bill Russell’s very first Topps basketball card cancelled paycheck. Mr. Russell was the key card in the celebrated 1957-1958 Topps basketball card set. The 1957-58 Topps basketball card set was the first basketball card set issued by Topps and is the most important of the three major basketball sets issued prior to 1969 (the other two are Bowman’s 1948 set and Fleer’s 1961 set). The reverse is endorsed by Mr. Russell, in bold black ink. Overall condition is very-good-plus. PSA/DNA Certified Authentic. A Topps Vault certificate of authenticity accompanies this one-of-a-kind piece of Topps hoops history.”

1956 Topps Baseball Uncut Promotional Sheets

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I shared a pair of 1956 Topps baseball 110-card uncut sheets a little while ago. Well, according to an article and this photo from the Spring 1982 issue of Baseball Cards, Topps also used uncut sheets as store promotional items. Has anyone seen another photo/item like this one?

The article said, “The descriptive advertising poster was pasted in the center of the uncut sheet to hype the sale of ’56 cards.” The author also argued that although the ‘poster’ proclaimed everything in 1956 was the biggest, he contended that the cards were the same size, had similar stars, and were only second in series/set size.

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