The Industry

1952 Topps Separated Three-Card Advertising Panel

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I’m a huge fan of salesman samples, and here’s a unique one from the 1952 Topps release that I found in Ron Oser Enterprises’ April 2000 catalog.

This one is interesting because it was once complete, but the owner cut the three cards into “singles” a long time ago. The fronts include Eddie Joost, Willie Jones, and Gordon Goldsberry. When the cards are fitted together, you can see the copy on the back pretty clearly.

It wasn’t uncommon for folks to cut up salesman samples, as someone just (May 23, 2024) sold this salesman sample single of Mel Parnell on eBay for $173.26.

I know I’ve been promising it for a while, but I am still working on a long-form (magazine-like) piece on salesman samples. But it might now be the second one I release. Stand by!

1950’s Star-Cal Decal Counter Display

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Here’s an item you don’t see come up for sale very often: a 1950s Star-Cal Decal Counter Display. It was produced by Meyercord Company of Chicago starting in 1952 for paint and hardware stores.

This September 2000 auction lot consisted of the large 13″ x 21″ dealer display, the envelope in which it was originally packaged, and seven smaller envelopes with four single-player decals and three two-player decals still packaged inside.

The players are Jackie Robinson, Monte Irvin, Rich Ashburn, Red Schoendienst, plus Snider/Roe, Jansen/Maglie, and Hodges/Reese pairings.

This display board still had its folding back stand fully attached and unused. Apart from some localized wear on the lower left corner, it was described as being in near-mint condition with the decals in EX-MT to NR-MT condition with some surface wrinkling. The red envelopes showed handling and mild edge and corner wear.

About a decade later, REA sold the following pair of displays in the spring of 2009 for $2,115, with one featuring New York Giants players and the other featuring Boston Red Sox players.

And another decade later Heritage sold one with Yankees players for $4920 in December 2019.

In terms of the back, Heritage wrote, “Comes wrapped in clear plastic (original?) and a cardboard stiffener. Back has tape and double faces tape remnants.”

The 1991 Topps Sweepstakes Winner Of 40 Sets From 40 Years Of Topps Baseball

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For their 1991 release, Topps randomly packed every card from every complete set produced by Topps over the last 40 years in 1991 retail packs, including the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card – though technically, the pricey and oversized cards were a redemption. On top of the instant-win cards, they also offered an anniversary sweepstakes, where they gave out complete sets from all 40 years to 40 winners. But the grand prize was all 40 sets from 40 years of Topps Baseball to a single winner! 

The “incredible consumer prizes” were detailed to dealers on Topps’ sell sheets.

Topps then highlighted the instant-win prizes on their boxes, packs, and posters to collectors.

Jack Glenn won the grand prize but ended up selling all the cards, including the 1952 Mantle, to Mr. Mint Alan Rosen for $34k.

Rosen wrote in his book True Mint that even though Topps advertised the cards as being worth a lot more, their grades were only Vg to Ex.

The Innovative ’80s From 3-D Cards To The Metal Gallery of Immortals

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Topps wasn’t going to acknowledge what led to them trying out some new things in their own magazine, but I think we all know the end of the Topps monopoly and competition from Donruss and Fleer drove the innovation.

Nevertheless, Pearlman’s article in Edition 9, The Winter 1992 release of Topps Magazine, provides a nice overview of some unique ’80s releases. In the comments, let me know which one’s your favorite.

Original 1949 Bowman Baseball Window Ad Sheet

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It’s incredible that this 1949 Bowman window ad sheet, meant to be stuck inside a window with pre-applied glue, survived intact.

In their May 2000 catalog, Mastro auctions described this 20” x 5-3/4” piece as in near-mint condition with a fold in the center, as manufactured. It features 16 of the set’s 240 “upcoming” cards.

One contributor on the net54 boards said these were displayed in candy store windows in the Philadelphia area in June 1949.

1939-66 Exhibit Supply Company Archive Of Original Baseball Photos

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This lot of 342 Exhibit Supply Company photos is a genuine piece of hobby history. It was originally purchased at the time of ESCO’s liquidation in 1979 upon the owner’s retirement. Mastro offered it in their April 2003 Sports Premier Catalog Auction.

I can’t get a clean scan of the lot’s description because the catalog is so thick, so I’ve re-typed it:

Presented is the absolutely unique hoard of 342 original photographs and artist’s proof pieces that were used to construct Exhibit Supply Company’s baseball-themed arcade cards from 1939 to 1966. The importance of these images cannot be overstated. They were the foundations for some of the hobby’s most cherished collectibles, and every illustration is a one-of-a-kind origin item behind the production of an industry favorite. The long span of years covered allows a flight of fancy through the game from its early 20th Century Hall of Famers to the more recent superstars we watched in action during the 1950’s and 1960’s. This is an unbelievably compelling assembly of material! Many of the stars are presented in multiple poses (since they appeared in more than one Exhibit set) and the array of talent included is simply incredible. The original images for the much sought-after Exhibit “team” cards are here also. A tiny sampling of the players represented, mentioning just a fraction of the stars included, reveals: Hank Aaron, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Mickey Cochrane, Ty Cobb, Dizzy Dean, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Evers, “Jimmy” Foxx, Frankie Frisch, Lou Gehrig, Henry Greenberg, Carl Hubbell, Walter Johnson, Connie Mack, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Christy Mathewson, Willie Mays, Joe Medwick, Mel Ott, Satchel Paige, Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Warren Spahn, Tris Speaker, Joe Tinker, Rube Waddell, Honus Wagner, Ted Williams (including ‘number 9 showing’), Cy Young, 1949 Yankees, 1950 Yankees, 1951 Yankees and many, many others. (Only space constraints prevent the listing of dozens more from this mind-boggling roster of baseball giants.) These photographs are b/w glossies of 8” x 10” or smaller dimensions, or have been fashing as “paste-up” grafted likenesses. Almost all have artist’s or editor’s working specification notes attached. A number of the images are actual “wire photos,” with news service attributions stamped on the reverse sides, and most of them display an enhanced definition of appearance that made them suitable for quality reproduction on cards. Overall condition is EX to EX/MT. This breathtaking archive was purchased at the time of Exhibit Supply Company’s liquidation in 1979 (upon the owner’s retirement), and has been preserved in full, intact form. An LOA, from the industry veteran who obtained the items directly from Exhibit Supply Company, accompanies. This amazing assembly includes an unbelievable wealth of key rarities and stars, and offers phenomenal “break” value!

The minimum bid was $2,500. If anyone knows the final price, let me know in the comments.

ACU-Card – America’s First Independent Sports Card Grading Service

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I scanned this ad for ACU-Card from the Spring 1990 issue (Edition 2) of Topps Magazine. 

Frankly, dozens of third-party authenticators have come and gone. You can see a great list of them here on the Collectors forums. What I’m more interested in is where that 1952 Topps Mantle card is today (by the way, there’s no way it’s real).

I’ve read that a coin dealer named Alan Hager started the company. Many collectors have shared that he wasn’t really a high-integrity character. But If you want to add a piece of hobby history to your collection, you can still find a bunch of ACU-Card slabs on eBay.