Uncut Sheet

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!

1955 Topps Doubleheaders Uncut Panel

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What’s super cool about the 1955 Topps Doubleheaders uncut panels is how clearly they show the continuous artwork designed into the backgrounds on the cards!

Mastro offered this particular copy in their April 2006 catalog. Here’s the complete description:

Collectors of individual ’55 Topps “Doubleheaders” cards appreciate the items’ clever design and 2-in-1 player format, but they might remain unaware of yet another eye-catching feature: when placed side-by-side in the correct sequence, the collectibles’ backgrounds merge into a realistically constructed stadium-setting tableau. That marvelously artistic detail is graphically revealed in the very scarce uncut panel of six “Doubleheaders” cards here offered. In this still-attached half-dozen, which clearly shows that multi-play-er paintings were neatly sectioned to create the original single-card images, the items’ subjects can be seen standing in front of a dugout, a batting cage, and consistent rows of seats. A great display piece! The panel’s cards include: #’s 11/12, 13/14, 15/16, 17/18, 19/20 and 21 Skowron/22. The uncut relic measures 4-3/4″ x 12-1/2″, and presents an EX condition appearance with irregular border cuts and natural handling faults confined to the periphery.

If you want to see all the baseball panoramas featured in the Doubleheaders set, check out this post on The Topps Archives called Double Your Pleasure, which features Roger Nisly’s compiled handiwork from various auction catalogs over the years.

1935 R89 And R90 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse Uncut Sheets

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Who doesn’t love the mouse? These four sheets from Gum Inc. were auctioned off together in April 2004 and included three from the R89 Mickey Mouse set, and one from the R90 Mickey Mouse with the Movie Stars set.

Each panel includes 24 different card designs that were fully printed on both sides.

The lot included two sheets from the 1935 R89 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse set, which included card numbers 49-72. One sheet was described as VG/EX condition, while the other was described as EX/MT. The other R89 sheet included cards 73-96, including the popular Walt Disney at his drawing board card 92.

The fourth sheet in the lot was a 1935 R90 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse with the Movie Stars one, which included card numbers 97-120. At the time, it was thought to be the only uncut full sheet of R90 cards in existence. Unfortunately, the sheet had some significant damage and obvious surface paper loss.

1941 Play Ball Paper Sheet

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Christie’s offered this extremely scarce 1941 Play Ball paper sheet of twelve cards in their October 1993 catalog. It was expected to sell for $750-$1,000.

With cardboard being a critical commodity leading up to the US involvement in World War II, Play Ball issued a 24-card paper version of their 1941 baseball set. The “cards” were issued in two 12-card sheets. A scarce test issue to begin with, these cards were more fragile than their cardboard counterparts, which has made them increasingly difficult to find. 

In the lot’s description, Christie’s wrote that in 1941, Gum Inc. produced two paper proof sheets. The lot pictured above had twelve cards, numbered 1 to 12, printed on thin paper stock. This one was described as being in near-mint condition.

Heritage Auctions sold another copy of the same paper uncut sheet for $720 in May 2019.

And in August 2023, Huggins and Scott offered both sheets, but the current/final price shows “0.00” after opening at $500, so perhaps it got pulled.

1970 Topps Basketball Full Uncut Sheet With Three Maravich Rookies

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Here’s another historic hoops item: a 1970/71 Topps basketball uncut sheet.

This one features three Pete Maravich rookies, and when it was sold in 2008 by Mastro Auctions, it was the only known example (I’m unsure if this is still true; there are definitely some partial sheets).

The sheet contains 99 fully printed Topps Tall Boy basketball cards from 1970/71 in a 9 x 11 card arrangement. On top of the three Maravich cards are thee each for West, Frazier, Robertson (AS), Baylor (AS), Havlicek (AS), and Cunningham.

Despite some surface creasing and minor issues around the periphery, the sheet was described as being in excellent condition.

The sheet was actually sold by Huggins and Scott Auctions in October 2007 for $4600 before making its way into Mastro’s a few months later.

I suspect the copy from Christopher Sanchirico’s collection is the same one.

And that sheet appears to be for sale on eBay (in May 2024) for $250k.

You can read more about the 1970 Topps Basketball set’s uncut sheets on one of my favorite hobby blogs, The Topps Archives.

1966 Topps Baseball Uncut Blank-Back Proof Sheet

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Here’s a great item from the days of auction past: a 1966 Topps baseball full uncut blank-back proof sheet featuring 11 Hall of Famers.

Mastro offered this one in their May 2008 Sports & Americana auction catalog and included the following description:

An incredible eye-catcher, this very scarce uncut sheet offers unrivaled star power! With its content derived from the issue’s 2nd Series, the 132-card proof sheet’s roster is filled with Hall of Famers, including Alston, Banks (2), Brock (2), Cepeda, Ford (2), Killebrew, Morgan and the rookie card of Palmer. Measuring approximately 28″ x 43″ the blank-backed item’s fully printed obverse depictions are arranged in an 11-card-by-12-card configuration. The sheet presents about EX display quality, and reflects inevitable, scattered surface wrinkling (affecting many individual subjects, including one Brock, one Banks and the Killebrew designs) and marginal faults incurred during factory handling and rolled storage.

REA sold a proof sheet with the same card layout in the Spring of 2021 for $2,880. After reading about the condition and inspecting the paper loss and borders, it’s likely the same sheet Mastro had offered 13 years earlier.

1969 (Or 1968) Topps Deckle Edge Test Set Uncut Sheet

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Here’s a pretty cool item that Mastro auctioned off in March 2000: a 1969 Topps Test Set Uncut Sheet.

There are nine players on the sheet, including Carl Yastrzemski. However, Topps only used the Yaz image in the deckle-edge insert set that year. The auction description pointed out that the deckle-edge cards use similar black-and-white images with the player’s signatures across the bottom third of the cards, so it’s likely that this heavy cardboard sheet was made in that issue’s preparation. And since uncut deckle-edge sheets show identical card layouts and spacing, it’s possible this one was an early proof.

In an article about 2018 Heritage cards, SABR wrote a few words about these proof sheets, “I discovered that Topps did a test run for deckle edge in ’68 that was never distributed. There are uncut proof pages and singles with blank backs that have blue, black and red autographs. Apparently, Topps wanted to see which color looked the most realistic. By the way, the O-Pee-Chee deckle cards used black ink for autographs. Interestingly, the proof sheets contain nine images, only one of which was used in ‘69: Carl Yastrzemski. The rest of the players (Dave Adlesh, Hank Aguire, Sandy Alomar, Bob Johnson, Claude Osteen, Juan Pizzaro, Hal Woodeschick and Sonny Jackson–who is depicted on the Colt ‘45s) appear to have been randomly selected. Only Osteen could have reasonable been considered a star in 1968.”

For reference, here’s a proof sheet of 1969 Topps Deckle Edge cards, representing two complete 33-card sets, that REA sold in the spring of 2021 for $600.

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