Original Artwork

1965 Topps John Huarte Original Football Card Artwork

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Here’s the original flexichrome artwork for John Huarte’s 1965 Topps #117 Football card.

Ron Oser Enterprises offered it in their December 2000 auction catalog.

They described it as a “Very desirable 3 3/4” x 5 1/4” flexichrome artwork of Huarte’s Short Print rookie card #117 from Topps’ popular 1965 ‘over-sized’ issue. Beautiful condition, neatly affixed to a 7” x 11” black paper backing, accompanied by an example card (EXMT).”

Here’s the artwork next to the final card.

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1953 Topps #136 Ken Heintzelman Original Artwork

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I’ve previously shared the original artwork for the 1953 Topps Willie Mays and Whitey Ford cards that Guernsey’s sold in its famous 1989 Topps Auction. But other examples have also tricked out over the years, including this one of Ken Heintzelman.

Mastro offered this example in its April 2004 Sports Premier Catalog Auction. The hand-painted piece was described as 3-1/2” x 5” in near-mint condition and, obviously, one-of-a-kind.

Here’s the artwork next to the final card.

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A Curious Item – The “Original Artwork” For Darrell Johnson’s 1957 Topps Baseball Card

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I ran across an item in Ron Oser Enterprises’ December 2000 catalog that perplexes me. It was described as a 3 1/2” x 5 1/2” flexichrome artwork for Darrell Johnson’s 1957 Topps card, but I always thought flexi’s were used to color black and white images.

I reached out to The Topps Archives, and he pointed out that flexi’s can look different but also thought they were only used to color black-and-white images. He also wondered if Topps just cut out the image with an Xacto knife as it would have already been in color. He pointed out that it sort of looks like an alternate for Johnson’s 1958 Topps card, which has a slightly different pose.

Any ideas? Did Topps have other plans for the 1957 Topps set? Were they going to use the cutout for another set?

Update: 23 December 2024

After I shared the images on X, Keith Olbermann shared that the item was for sale on eBay at the time, with an asking price of $800. He wrote, “The scan is much clearer and suggests your conclusion is right. Look at the trimming around the image of Johnson. If I remember correctly this was a Wingfield photo taken in DC and appears in one of the Jay Publishing ‘unofficial’ Yankee yearbooks 1957-8-9…in b&w.”

The eBay auction description provided a bit more detail, particularly about its source: “Original artwork for the 1957 Topps Darrell Johnson baseball card. Artwork measures about 3 ½ inches × 5 ½ inches and depicts the pose used for the 1957 baseball card. Artwork is in excellent condition and the lot includes a 1957 Topps baseball card of Darrell Johnson. The artwork has a small note that reads: ‘Topps Artwork from the Gelman Collection.'”

Roselle Avenue then shared this cool custom card with all of us.

Happy collecting!

1953 Topps #244 Willie Mays Original Artwork

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In July, I shared the original artwork used for Whitey Ford’s 1953 Topps baseball card; today, the details for Willie Mays.

Again, the original full-color paintings of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Bob Feller, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campanella’s 1953 Topps baseball cards were first made available to the hobby in Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989.

Here’s the section’s description in the catalog and the details for the 3 1/2″ x 5″ VG conditioned 1953 Willie Mays original color artwork. It sold for $80k (+10% Buyers Premium).

I’m curious if the owner of the original artwork has managed to pick up a copy of the original news photograph that inspired the piece. REA sold this circa 1951 PSA/DNA Type 1 example for $16,800 in the Spring of 2020.

And finally, here’s a fantastic example of the 1953 Topps #244 Willie Mays card.

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1952 Bowman Football Cards Original Artwork From Guernsey’s Topps Auction

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In May 2024, I shared the original football card artwork for Chuck Hunsinger’s 1952 Bowman card and mentioned that the original art was first sold to the hobby in Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989, so I wanted to share all the pages from the catalog with every B&W photo.

Not including the 10% buyers premium, the four priciest 1952 Bowman football card original art pieces were $6k for Doak Walker (note: my list says E61A was $6k, which could be Sammy Baugh rather than Doak Walker), $5k for Frank Gifford, $3,750 for Otto Graham, and $3,750 for George Halas.

It would be impossible to track down each piece of original artwork for a single collection today, but I may try to find pictures of them for a page here on the site as a future project. Happy collecting!

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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.

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1953 Topps #207 Whitey Ford Original Artwork

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I ran across the original color artwork used for Whitey Ford’s 1953 Topps baseball card while flipping through Sotheby’s February 1992 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia Catalog. It represented a quick flip from its sale in Guernsey’s 1989 Topps Auction.

First, Sotheby’s included few details, just that it was a full-color original artwork and that the lot included an example card in near-mint to mint condition. They described the original artwork as being 3 1/2 by 5 in.

But like I said, Sotheby’s wasn’t the first auction house to offer this Topps original artwork. It was first made available to the hobby in Guernsey’s Topps Auction in 1989, along with the original full-color paintings of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Bob Feller, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campanella’s 1953 Topps baseball cards.

Guernseys included cropped color photos of all six art pieces in the front (page 17) of the catalog; here’s a scan of the Ford.

The specific auction lots were found later in the catalog. Ford shared page 72 with Jackie Robinson. Notice the expected $2,000-3000 price.

The Ford did a little better than that; it sold for $35,200. Interestingly, less than three years later, Sotheby’s expected the Ford to be sold for only $20,000-25,000.

To round things out, here’s the original news photograph from the early 1950s that inspired Ford’s 1953 (and 1954) Topps baseball card. Heritage sold this PSA/DNA Type 1 example for $1,920 in November 2017.

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