Uncut 1952 Topps sheets – Need your help?
 

After reading George Vrechek’s article on the printing process for 1952 Topps cards (http://www.oldbaseball.com/refs/5253printing.html), I’ve become inspired to see if I can’t add anything to the knowledge of the printing for this set.

My plan was to see what pictures/description I could find on uncut 1952 Topps sheets and so far, I’ve collected 12 pictures on uncut sheets. I’ll post them at the bottom for those that are interested. These come almost exclusively from auction houses over the last 5 years or so – but I know there are more out there. (I know 3 sheets exist for the high numbers for example, but I have not seen any pictures.)

If you have any other pictures of uncut 1952 sheets (no matter how small!), would you mind sharing them with me?

You can post on this thread or if you prefer to remain anonymous, please feel free to send me an email at: patrick_prickett@yahoo.com. Pictures would be preferred (as I’m trying to figure the layout issue), but if you don’t wish to provide that, even a description of what you have/seen would be helpful.

THANK YOU!
Patrick

Ps - Here are the sheets I’ve been able to find so far:

some more pictures
 

Pictures set #2:

Final set
 

Here's the last group I've been able to find:

looks like your missing this one, John

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall...e/52second.jpg

Looks like the ones in this photo may help too:

http://photos.imageevent.com/ltsgall.../52display.jpg

52 Topps
 

I think I will run down to Woolworths and buy a few of those!! Anyone want to go with me? :)

I'm definitely in Marc!
 

Wow, great pictures. That big sheet is very interesting. I had assumed everything was printed in rows of 5 based on all the other sheets I collected.

Thanks!
Patrick

That Woolworths photo has me salivating !! :p

Those are the biggest portions of '52 sheets I have ever seen John; nothing but 5 x 5 quadrants until now. I thought that the big sheet was two partial halves of a full 200 card sheet, as the gutter down the middle makes that pretty clear to me then I see the horizontal gutter. Either those were from a proofing operation or Topps had Lord Baltimore Printing running off 400 cards on a big sheet, which I am trying to get my head around. Is a sheet that size even possible to print in 1952?

Is that a full run of 81-130? I presume it is. Where one earth did you find that scan?!

I have some bits and pieces on my blog as well: http://toppsarchives.blogspot.com/se...pps%20Baseball

Off the top of my head I don't remember but the date on my file is April 2009 so maybe REA??

IMO the full sheet would have each card printed 4 times in blocks of 50 so 200 total cards on the one sheet with the gutter down the middle(s)

Dave H
 

You are correct, a complete 1952 Topps sheet contains 200 cards. The sheet pictured here has been cut down....as it only shows 136 cards.
The leftmost side of this sheet is missing two columns. The rightmost side of it is missing one column. And, the bottom two rows are missing.

What is very interesting about this incomplete sheet is that it tells us that the most plentiful Series (#81-130) were Quadruple-Printed (QP).


TED Z

I agree
 

Ted,

I absolutely agree with your comments. This sheet gives us real insight into the printing for series 2. I've also heard that in the 1980s(?) someone brought in 3/4th of the high numbers on 3 sheets. And while I've never seen these sheets (anyone out there have a picture?), I've seen two different sources show the lay out of the cards and what that tells us is the the high numbers were all double printed (on a full sheet) ... except for the Mantle, Jackie and Thomson which were all quadruaple printed. (Hard to imagine how expensive those three cards would be if they weren't!). This also mirrors Al Rosen's find. The scarcity in this series really does seem to relate to what got distributed versus what got printed.

The other series are still a bit of a mystery though as they do not evenly divide into 100 as they are 80 cards to a series and 60 cards to a series.

The Stanky/Law sheet (which has a red back) that I showed in my earlier pictures does give us some additional insight here though ... as that combines print series 1 and 2. This proves (?) Topps printed some cards for a later series on the earlier series sheet if they had the extra room. Another sheet or two crossing series would be useful to further prove this for the later series (so please show them if you got them!).

The black backs for series 1 is also still a mystery. We know they didn't print later series with black backs, so presumably they just kept printing Series 1 cards until they fill the sheets ... but how did they ensure equal distribution?

Also another mystery still ... if this is the printing practice ... why is #20 Loes a short print when nothing else from that run is? Why is #295 Cavaretta a shorter print than the others around it?

Actually I can still come up with other questions (like why does the Roe sheet I pictured have two rows of Roe ... in both ascending and descending order ... when all of the other sheets we see don't have any repeats and are either ascending or descending?).

In any event, thanks to John for showing a very important sheet! This provides one more clue that I didn't have before.

Cheers,
Patrick

I've often wondered if Topps was mixing and matching DP or even other rows between series, i.e if there were two rows of 10 cards on a sheet from series 1 that were DP's of other rows from that series, they would strip those out in the last run and use two rows from the next series. There are hints of it in later years and that Law row does make that appear possible.

I also think 1952 is a bit of a rule breaker when it comes to uncut sheets (only major BB series with consecutive numbering) but 53 was also planned weird (5 cards skipped in the lower series sheets) and 54 had some very strange skipping around of series (a known sheet with card nos. 126-150 and 176-250 is out there). They went to 110 card sheets in '55 and I think things evened out a bit but this is really good information being developed on the 52's.

The story of the 3/4 high number sheet and an illustration of the 1954 sheet are in the third Sport Americana BB Price Guide (1981 edition).

1952 topps sheets
 

are there any known 3rd series sheets that might show with the frank house yellow logo

All aboard
 

We will be departing for Woolworth's in one hour...

New Addition to the photo archives
 

We now know at least one of the three missing high number sheets survived. Anyone have pictures of the other two?