Uncut Sheet

1935 R89 And R90 Gum Inc. Mickey Mouse Uncut Sheets

by

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.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

1941 Play Ball Paper Sheet

by

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.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

1970 Topps Basketball Full Uncut Sheet With Three Maravich Rookies

by

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.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

1966 Topps Baseball Uncut Blank-Back Proof Sheet

by

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.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

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

by

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.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

1965 Topps Bewitched Test Issue

by

The 1965 Topps Bewitched set was never actually issued—even in a test market—but some blank-backed sheets made it out. Topps also released a few singles directly from the ‘Topps Vault,’ including these eight, which were offered together in 2004.

Here’s the full auction lot description that accompanied the cards:

These super-desirable items are the product of Topps’ very brief attempt to capture the 1960’s television classic, Bewitched, in trading card form. Offered is a collection of eight different 1965 Topps Bewitched cards. The 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ cards feature black and white photographs from the series, and each one pictures either Elizabeth Montgomery, as Samantha, or Agnes Moorehead as her mother, Endorra. Printed on grey cardboard stock and blank-backed (as are all of the very few known examples from the prospective series), the cards grade NM to NM/MT. The cards’ titles include: “Elizabeth Montgomery,” “Endorra,” “Jinxing a Batter,” “Mother and Daughter.” “Protest March,” “Ready for Action,” “Thinking Wicked” and “Which is Witch?” These sought-after and very rare collectibles originate from the Topps Vault, and are accompanied by individual LOA’s from that company.

Additionally, The Non-Sports bible shared that two cards of the 26 in the unreleased set appear to be overprinted based on multiple copies being printed on uncut sheets (Pretty Witch & Practicing Witchcraft). Also, cards with printing on the back have yet to be reported. REA sold the following sheet for $2700 in the spring of 2017 before selling the same one again in August 2024 for $4,920.

Here’s REA’s description for the Rare 1965 Test Issue ‘Bewitched’ Complete Set on Uncut Sheet (28):

Extremely rare uncut sheet of twenty-eight 1965 Topps “Bewitched” test cards based on the popular television series. “Bewitched” is one of the rarest sets of all 1960s Topps test issues. The set was never actually issued to the public, and we believe that all known items related to this series have originated over the years from the Topps Vault. The black-and-white cards feature the star of the show Elizabeth Montgomery and other cast members in various scenes from the television show. This 28-card sheet represents the complete set of twenty-six known cards from the set plus two duplicates (Practicing Witchcraft and Pretty Witch). Aside from a couple of creases both near the two lower corners, the sheet (22 x 17.5 inches) remains in Near Mint condition. The sheet is blank-backed. This is an extraordinary high-grade uncut sheet from this unbelievably rare Topps test issue.

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!

James Cumption’s 1955 Rodeo Meats Super Collection

by

One of the cooler groups of related items in Christie’s October 1992 Sports Memorabilia catalog came from James Cumption’s 1955 Rodeo Meats Athletics collection. It included a complete set, a scrapbook album, an uncut sheet, and a paper uncut sheet.

Sotheby’s pre-empted the four lots in the catalog with a bold note that said they were “PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JAMES CUMPTION.”

Lot 275 was the 1955 Rodeo Meats Athletics Complete Set (47). It was described as “Issued by a local meat company to commemorate the first season of the Athletics in Kansas City. There are 38 different players featured in the set in addition to 9 variation cards. Front features player photograph and name with the “Rodeo” logo. The reverse carries an ad for a scrapbook album—mint”

Lot 276 was the 1955 Rodeo Meats Athletics Scrapbook Album described as follows, “Contains 16 album pages for the Rodeo Meats cards, player biographies and the 1955 team schedule. Above each player’s name are 28 cards neatly pasted. The album was obtained by sending in a label from a Rodeo Meat product and 25 cents-mint.”

Lot 277 was the 1955 Rodeo Meats Athletics Uncut Sheet, “Featuring 25 cards of the Kansas City Athletics, probably one of two sheets which completed the set. Includes the Shantz misspelled and all short printed cards. Eight background color variations – framed and matted – 17 x 13 in. – mint.”

And Lot 278 was the 1955 Rodeo Meats Athletics Paper Uncut Sheet, “A 25 card paper color sheet, identical to the regular issue. Diagonally across the sheet are two white banners advertising Rodeo Meats, and The Knothole Gang television show.”

Check out The Uncut Sheet Archive for more!