ESCO

A Rare 1966 Exhibit Baseball Uncut Sheet?

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I ran across a rare item in Ron Oser Enterprises’ April 2001 catalog described as a 1966 Exhibit card uncut sheet from the last year that exhibit cards were issued. But I don’t know that the description was accurate!

My understanding is that the 1964-66 Exhibit cards don’t have ‘Printed in USA’ on the fronts and have blank backs, and it looks like the Berra batting card has that text on the bottom right. I’ve also read that this late series has 32 cards that were reprinted from the 1963 Stat set with blank backs (the ’63 set has 64 cards in the checklist), but Adam Warshaw has the best book on exhibit cards, Exhibit and Related Sports Arcade Cards, and he wrote, “As ESCO declined it issued a series of cards in 1964-66 that are substantially short printed and sell for a lot more than similar cards.” He went on to say that “the postwar run also yielded a key error card. Barney McCoskey is the corrected-common; Barney McCaskey is the error.” And I don’t see that card on the sheet. I also have seen 1963 Stat back checklists, and they don’t include a Mantle Portrait, which is included on the sheet and which Warshaw mentions as a key item in the late series. I’m so confused!

It looks to me like the exact same 1947-66 Exhibits uncut sheet that REA sold for $450 in the summer of 2019. They described it as a “32-card uncut production sheet.” They also wrote, “It is a virtual certainty that this sheet originates from the dispersal of The Exhibit Supply Company archives. Long ago, when the company was no longer in business, many of the photos, uncut sheets, and various advertising materials from the archives of the Exhibit Supply Company were scattered to the four corners of the collecting world.”

So, is this a late series sheet? Does the late series have 32 or 64 cards, and what’s their design makeup? Let me know if you know!

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.