Spring Premium LIVE Auction April 30th and Catalog Auction May 7th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/30/2016
Presented is a breathtakingly attractive pane of cards featuring 100 subjects from the 1953 Topps baseball issue. This extraordinarily rare and colorful sheet spotlights the character of the popular Major League production in a form that's almost never seen in the hobby: reputedly, just one other, comparably sectioned piece has been confirmed in the industry, and no fully uncut counterpart is known to exist. The offered sheet is completely and properly printed on both front and back. Recovered as a discarded production relic, the sheet has been irregularly cut into ten horizontal strips containing ten cards apiece. When these are placed into alignment as originally situated, the result is a visually powerful 10-card-by-10-card spectacle measuring approximately 27" x 38". The pane's designs – showcasing the work of professional animator and noted Topps artist Gerry Dvorak – form an incomparable display of 1950s baseball legends. Mickey Mantle's card appears at the upper left, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Ed Mathews are clustered together, downward and slightly to the left of the center, and Pee Wee Reese and Enos Slaughter share a tête-bêche arrangement at the right-side edge. Other Hall of Famers represented on the panel include Bob Feller, Red Schoendienst, Monte Irvin and Johnny Mize. In all, eighty different subjects populate the array (along with twenty "double prints"); only the short-printed numbers 10, 44, 61, 72 and 81 are missing from a complete run of numbers 1 through 85. A delight to view, the piece boasts bright colors and clear images throughout. Nominal faults include a crease at the right side (affecting several cards), an absent sliver of material at the top edge of the items at the lower margin, and imprecise cutting that poses no distraction when the ten strips are arranged to form a single display. This pane is a phenomenal survivor, projecting an aesthetic appeal that's absolutely unparalleled!