Sotheby’s offered an incredible series of 7 1952 Topps Progressive Proof Uncut Sheets in their 1992 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia Auction…But I have a bad feeling the buyer trimmed this one.
First, here’s the lot’s description from the ’92 catalog. They mentioned the series of sheet colors and conditions and that it was the only known series of progressive sheets of this series.
Things get interesting in 2006 when REA auctioned off a lot, which sold for $16,240, of “1952 Topps Series 1A Uncut Color Process Proof Sheets (7), The First 1952 Topps Ever Printed!” They included photos of each sheet; here are a few of them:
But do you notice anything about the full-color one? The more extensive borders from the one pictured in the Sotheby’s auction are missing!
REA re-sold the final color process sheet in May 2009 for $18,800, however they noted that, “The final sheet was originally accompanied by six color process proof sheets, which have since been perfectly cut and organized by player, and are represented by the twenty lots that follow this one.”
In both auctions, REA wrote, “The offered sheets are the only 1952 Topps color process sheets known to exist.”
I reached out to The Topps Archives (my favorite hobby blog) since he wrote a great piece inspired by the second REA auction, sharing my concerns. He wrote that the line between Pesky and Groth is on all the examples, so they could be the same. He also hoped there was no cut-down but acknowledged it seemed like there was.
Considering that it was unlikely Topps would need multiple printings of these proofs, the visual similarities, and auction descriptions, it seems likely someone trimmed (and cut up individual cards from) a true hobby one-of-one.
Please let me know if you have any more intel on this one.
Sotheby’s offered this circa 1935 uncut sheet of Diamond Stars when they sold Copeland’s collection in 1991. The cards were meant to be the high numbers for the R327 set issued by National Chicle Gum Co.
In the lot’s description, Sotheby’s wrote, “This sheet turned up in a discovery of material from the relative of a printer for The National Chicle Gum Co. which included a few uncut sheets and several pieces of original artwork (issued and unissued). The offered sheet is the only known copy.”
When SCP auctions resold the sheet in April 2016 for $62,256, they included the following photos for the lot, including the back (Sotheby’s sold the sheet framed).
Here’s the full description from the 2016 SCP Auction:
The 1934-36 R327 Diamond Stars Baseball set is one of the most beautiful ever produced. Its unique art deco renderings, player selection, and other eclectic nuances have captivated generations of collectors. Although the final checklist for the multi-year set reaches as high as #108, apparently there were plans to take it higher. The proof lies in this lone surviving copy of a 1936 R327 Diamond Stars Baseball uncut sheet showing 12 more cards that made it to the drawing board and beyond.
This spectacular uncut sheet turned up in a discovery of material back in the 1980’s from a relative of a printer for the National Chicle Company, producers of the Diamond Stars series. Also included in the find were a few regular issue uncut sheets and some baseball original artwork (both issued and unissued). The magnificent piece offers 12 art deco images of 13 players, including one featuring Hall of Fame St. Louis Browns teammates Rogers Hornsby and Jim Bottomley, one of the first multi-player cards produced in a major card issue in the 1900’s. Also included on the sheet are Hall of Famers Vernon “Lefty” Gomez and Goose Goslin plus Phil Cavaretta, Lon Warneke, Mel Harder, Benny Frey, Pete Fox, Linus Frey, Rip Collins, Roger Cramer, and Gene Moore. All have crystal clear images with outstanding color and detail. This is the only Diamond Stars high series sheet and cards known to exist. Sheet has full production front with printer’s marks and a blank back. One very slight crease crosses the lower right corner in the white outside of the card images. This unique sheet was originally offered in the 1991 Sotheby’s Copeland Collection Auction. A few years later it sold for an amazing $75,000. In 1997 it was displayed at the National Sports Gallery in Washington, DC. One of the finest known uncut baseball card sheets in the hobby in beautiful high grade condition.
Absent from the hobby for almost 20 years the time has come for another collector to become the steward for this extraordinary one-of-a-kind rarity. In an era of collecting where the hunger for rarity, “low-pops” and 1 of 1’s is ever increasing, this historic pre-war “cardifact” is sure to whet some appetites. SCP Auctions is honored to present the one and only 1936 R327 Diamond Star uncut sheet of never issued high numbers.
The 1950 Japanese Menko baseball card set features 52 leading Japanese players printed as playing cards, plus a joker featuring Babe Ruth. This uncut sheet was offered for sale in August 2003.
It’s one of the few times that Babe Ruth appeared on a Japanese card. The sheet was described as being 15” x 10-1/4”, off-center left, printed on both sides with a slight darkening on the back at the bottom, and with minor soiling at the lower right on the front that doesn’t affect any cards; EX/MT overall.
I don’t know much about Japanese baseball cards, but I did pick up a few books for the Hobby Library by noted niche expert Gary Engel.
Also, these sheets seem relatively common (Engel confirms this in the 6th Edition of his Japanese Baseball Card Checklist and Price Guide, mentioning that this set is generally found as an uncut sheet), with recent prices averaging a few hundred dollars but trending up; there are a few outliers over $1k.
You can download a digital version of Engel’s guide here.
There are some incredibly unique collectibles out there, like this 1940/41 O-Pee-Chee double-sided “uncut sheet” I found in a 2005 Mastro auction catalog.
Here’s the lots full description:
In 1940, O-Pee-Chee continued the production of their oversized 5″ x 7″ cards from the year before. The offered uncut sheet contains images of all 50 cards in the 1940 set. Card #’s 101-125 are printed on one side of the sheet while cards #’s 126-150 appear on the other side. Card #’s 101-125 are printed in black and white while the remaining cards are in sepia. A plethora of stars are present, including #’s 102 Sands, 108 Broda, 116 Reardon, 118 Apps, 125 Lach, 130 Broda, 131 Bentley, 132 Schmidt, 136 Patrick and 146 Apps. The sheet measures an imposing 25-1/2″ × 36″. Due to its size, it is host to a plethora of condition problems, including multiple creases, edge tears, surface scrapes, etc. Despite these flaws, we cannot overstate its importance, and the piece may well be the only one of its type in the hobby. With proper framing and matting, this rarity would make a spectacular display piece and nicely complement the finest advanced hockey collection.
However, I think Heritage Auctions got it right when they sold an incredibly similar item in October 2021 for $810 and described it as an advertising poster.
They wrote, “This is a two-sided poster printed on thin paper. Was it meant to hang in retail stores? Did O-Pee-Chee consider making dual-sided cards on paper to accommodate the war effort like ’41 Play Ball baseball cards on paper in the states? Either way, it is very rare. There is some obvious edge damage, surface damage and creasing. Every card is affected by creasing. Overall size is approx 25” x 35″ on paper.”
When this 1969/70 Topps basketball uncut sheet was auctioned off in April/May 2008, it was one of only two known examples to the hobby.
The sheet is approximately 28” x 42” and features the entire 99-card set in a 9 x 11 arrangement. The sheet’s overall quality was described as ~Ex because of wrinkles affecting many of the single subjects (like Alcindor), creases, tears, and other faults. This consignor originally acquired the sheet from the Topps Vault.
From his archives, I know that Christopher Sanchirico once, or still, owns this example of a 1969 Topps basketball uncut sheet.
And then, just a few months ago, in February 2024, Heritage auctioned off this example of a 1969 Topps basketball uncut sheet, which sold for $216k despite a few pinholes and wrinkles from being rolled up for most of its existence.
This 1910 T212 Obak uncut sheet has 76 of 175 different subjects in the year’s release of Pacific Coast League Northwestern League players.
Mastro auctioned off this example in November 2000 and wrote that it features players from five of the PCL teams (no reps for Vernon) and Spokane only from the NWL. There are 46 different players depicted, with 30 of those appearing twice. Also, the format, with borders on the left and right, demonstrates that a single line from Obak’s production sheet was 19 cards. They went on to say that because the issue has 175 cards, they couldn’t rationalize any configuration with duplicate images, where 19 cards horizontally are compatible with 175 different ones in the set. They concluded this was bad news for Obak collectors since it suggests imbalances in production quantities within the issue.
Overall, the piece measured 10 1/2” x 28” and was production-ready. All the cards stated “175 subjects” on the back. The front of the sheet has a few creases, and about a dozen cards toward the right have mild spot toning, making the overall condition Gd to Vg.
Since that sale, a few more Obak uncut sheets have surfaced. In the Spring of 2010, REA sold the following 1909 T212 Obak Complete Set Uncut Sheet for $5875.
They wrote that the 76-card 1909 set is the first of the three annual T212 baseball cards from Obak Cigarettes and are by far the rarest. They mentioned having seen the 1910 Obak sheet and said it was interesting that the one-year-later sheet also had 76 cards, which, in addition to the 1909 Obak issue having precisely that number of cards in the set, suggests that this is a complete sheet exactly as printed. This was also a final process sheet with backs fully printed, but it also had a few imperfections. They advertised the sheet’s dimensions as 11 1/8” x 27 3/4”.
Next, in September 2021, Huggins & Scott sold this 1911 T212 Obak Full Uncut Sheet of 179 cards for $18,800.
They wrote, “With a challenging slate of games often approaching two hundred per season, the combatants of the early twentieth century Pacific Coast and Northwestern Leagues were some of the most colorful and hardworking personalities in the game. Capturing twelve teams and dozens of future major leaguers, the 1911 T212 Obak series featured western minor leaguers in what is often considered the most attractive baseball series issued during the tobacco card era. In April 2010, our Northern California-based consignor uncovered an incredible keepsake in his personal belongings. Three decades prior, a business associate gave our consignor several items from his father’s collection. A former employee of the Schmidt Lithography Company of San Francisco, these personal effects included advertising images, illustrations and a neatly folded sheet of baseball cards inserted into a manila 15×10 envelope. Measuring 31 x 23-1/2”, the offered 1911 T212 Obak full uncut sheet of (179) cards is likely unique and the largest baseball cigarette uncut sheet known in the hobby. While similar sheets (likely partial) of the 1909 series (76 cards) and 1910 edition (76 cards) have sold through competing auction houses, this (179) card galley overwhelms all others known. The interesting configuration includes (8) 21-card vertical rows and a single 11-card horizontal arrangement at the bottom of the sheet. Among the (88) different players, (85) players have two cards each, while a trio of players are displayed three times.”
Hopefully, sharing these three sheets can help some smarter folks about pre-war cards piece together a bit more of the T212 story.
For more about Obak cards, check out this summary from prewarcards.
The following engravers’ uncut proof sheet of a 1933 R333 Delong Gum complete set was described as “one of the finest and most magnificent uncut sheets of baseball cards in our entire hobby.”
The 12” x 13” sheet has great colors, a blank back (I can’t recall ever seeing a production sheet around the hobby), and includes all 24 images in the set. The consignor was said to have been tasked to create the color template for the issue and kept this one as a memento.
The April 2003 auction lot’s description described the arrangement of the cards on the sheet, commenting that the positioning of cards appears unrelated to the set’s numbering. So, the sheet dispelled previously held notions of relative scarcities with the production. However, you can see that Gehrig, Gehringer, William (Bill) Terry, and Pepper Martin occupy the sheet’s four corner positions, which would make them more susceptible to production line damage.
