Non-Sport Cards

1949 Topps Pixie Bubble Gum X-Ray Round-Up Advertising Poster

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Today, we present a 1949 Pixie Bubble Gum X-Ray Round-Up Advertising Poster from Topps’ early days.

I scanned this image from Mastro’s June 2006 Classic Collector Auction. Since it was an internet-only auction event, none of the items in the catalog included a description. I presume there were descriptions online, but their site has long been deleted.

The Modern Hobby Guide To Topps Chewing Gum: 1938 to 1956 includes a few words about the gum and card set within a discussion about 1949 being the year of many cards:

With the tempered success of Magic Photo giving way to the realization that the lifespan of a top selling set was about six months, Topps came out with a new gum tab called Pixie in the summer of 1949. The cards sold with this gum were called X -Ray Round -Up, as Topps continued to identify the gum and cards separately. Featuring well drawn, vivid color renderings of a series of subjects such as Pirates and Wild West stars on one side, a piece of “X-Ray film” was needed to see the line drawing on the other. Made of red cellophane, the film cancelled out red lines on the back of the card thereby revealing the X-Ray. A piece of X-Ray film was included along with each card. The set was actually marketed featuring the X-Ray pictures as the primary component as Topps slowly learned the business of “inserts”.

Interestingly, some of the illustrations of Indians in the set were closely based on old tobacco cards that had been issued in the 19th Century. The portraits on these cards, which were a quantum leap forward from the simplistic drawings that comprised Tatoo, were probably illustrated by the art agency of Solomon & Gelman.

The guide also offers a multi-page set synopsis; it’s free to download here.

Hake’s Auctions sold one of these poster signs for $275 in 2009, describing it as 20.5 ” x 26″.

Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club

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I quickly snapped this photo while scurrying about the 2024 National Sports Collectors Convention because it looked familiar.

Once I got home from the show, I remembered the logo was also on the back of 1950 Bowman baseball and football cards.

Details are super scarce, so please contact me if you have more info, but in the early 50s, I remember collectors mentioning that Bowman tried having a collectors club akin to Topps’ Trading Card Guild (Picture Card Collectors Club). The Topps Archives mentions it in a piece titled Re-Rack. Given the boxes below, it could have been how Bowman re-packed unsold cards.

I found that Lelands has sold a pair of these boxes. This first one was titled 1953-54 Bowman Television & Radio Stars/Power For Peace Partial Cello Box (27/36).

It sold for just under $2k in February 2019.

This second example is a 1953 Bowman Power For Peace/NBC Radio & Television Stars Cello Box with 14 Packs. It sold for $879 in March 2022.

The BBCE website has an out-of-stock 1953 Bowman TV & Radio Stars Cello Box that they had offered for $8k.

I also had the following early Bowman cello box in my photo archives; REA sold it in 2021 for $3,960. They resold the same box in August 2024 for $6,900.

Again, please let me know if you have more information about Bowman’s 5-Star Series Picture Card Collectors Club.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

1956 Topps Elvis Presley Five-Cent Wax Box With 24 Packs

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Time for another Carpet o’ Wax! This time, 24 1956 Topps Elvis Presley Five-Cent Wax Packs!

Mastro offered this non-sport classic in their April 2004 catalog; here’s the photo of the box they included with the packs.

The box has a factory-placed strip of clear tape and bears a “36 count” overprint, indicating that its contents were marketed in Canada.

The reference number for this 66-card set is R710-1. Most cards are marked “Bubbles Inc.,” so you may also see the set referred to as the 1956 Bubbles Elvis Presley card, which Topps also distributed in penny packs and vending boxes.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

1951 Topps Animals of the World One-Cent Display Box And Wrapper

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Yesterday, I shared a 1950 Topps Bring ‘Em Back Alive One-Cent display box, so today, I figured I’d share the box for the set’s sequel, 1951 Topps Animals of the World!

This one-cent display box was the preceding lot to the Frank Buck’s box in Mastro’s April 2004 catalog. This wrapper accompanied the box.

The box was described as being in near-mint condition, while the wrapper was described as EX.

This set is designated R714-1 by the American Card Catalog, and the cards featured artwork by Mary Lee Baker. They came as singles (1 card per pack for a penny) and perforated 2-card panels (6 cards/5-cent pack), and the panels command a premium. Also, the cards issued as singles have white cardboard stock on the back, while the panels have gray cardboard on the back.

If you want a slabbed wax pack, PSA has graded seven 1950 Topps Bring ‘Em Back Alive wax packs and ten 1951 Topps Animals of the World wax packs.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

1950 Topps Frank Buck’s Bring ‘Em Back Alive One-Cent Display Box And Wrapper

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Here’s an impossibly scarce Topps display box from their early years as a company that once held 120 penny packs of Frank Buck’s Bring ‘Em Back Alive cards.

Mastro offered this box in their April 2004 Americana Premier Catalog Auction, which included the most ridiculous selection of non-sports cards I’ve ever seen. The box came with the following Canadian-printed wrapper.

The lot’s description said Topps produced the box in 1951, but the community seems to have settled on a 1950 labeling for the set with an American Card Catalog Designation of R714-2 (ACC# R714-2). The box was described as being in near-mint condition, while the wrapper was described as EX.

Heritage sold the following box, which looks like it could be the same one Mastro did, for $504 in May 2024.

Also, for some reason, my Sport Americana Price Guide to the Non-Sports Cards 1930-1960 describes this as a Bowman set, but you can see the bottom of the box has a Topps copyright with a 1950 date. I think it was just a typo, though. When referencing it elsewhere in the book, they referred to the set as a Topps-produced one.

The Non-Sports Bible says the 100-card set “was originally issued as 2-card panels that are now quite difficult to find intact. ‘Animals of the World’ is sequel to this set. Panels command a premium due to scarcity.” Despite not mentioning it, I’m pretty sure the one-cent packs had just a single card. And more about the Animals of the World set in tomorrow’s blog post.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

14 Different 1964-1970 Non-Sport Display Boxes

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You have to admire the creativity that went into vintage non-sport display boxes. They’re attractive, colorful works of art; the comparison is more fitting since vintage boxes are also scarce and fragile!

These were part of a lot of 14 different that were auctioned off together in the spring of 2008. Today, auction houses would almost certainly list each of these boxes individually.

This grouping, offered by Mastro, included: 1964 Topps Beatles/Color Photos, 1965 Philadelphia Gum James Bond/Movies, 1965 Philadelphia Gum James Bond/Thunderball, 1965 Topps Man from U.N.C.L.E., 1966 Donruss Marvel Super Heroes, 1966 Topps Batman/Real Photos, 1966 Topps Superman, 1966 Donruss Monkees/2nd Series, 1967 Donruss Monkees/3rd Series, 1967 Donruss Monkees/2nd Series Canadian-issue Blue Box, 1968 Becker Laugh-In Rings, 1968 Philadelphia Gum Dark Shadows/Pink, and 1970 Donruss Odder Odd Rods.

The boxes were generally described as VG/EX to EX/MT in presentation quality.

Check out The Unopened Archive for more!

Original Artwork For the 1966 Topps Batman #19 Leap for Life Card

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Here’s the original artwork for the 1966 Topps, Red Bat puzzle-back series, Batman #19A “Leap for Life” card.

Mastro offered it in their April 2004 Americana Premier Catalog Auction. Here’s the complete description:

Presented is the 4-3/4” x 3-3/8” original artwork for the 1966 Topps Red Bat puzzle-back series, card number 19A. The larger-sized, painted version of “Leap for Life” graphically illustrates the crimefighter’s daring and determination as he bounds from the top of a moving railroad car in pursuit of a villain. Here is an incredibly finely detailed painting, one that delivers the essence of a set which, for many, helped to define the youthful “formative years” A breathtaking artwork! It is an absolutely unique and one-of-a-kind item, and a rare foundation artifact from the second series of Topps’ immortal Batman cards. The artwork displays at a bright EX/MT level, and an EX (o/c) example of the finished card, as issued, accompanies. Minimum Bid $500.

Many other original Norm Saunders-painted Topps Batman cards have been sold over the years, many for well over $10k.

Check out The Original Artwork Archive for more!