[toppcat]

I have been pondering some information I have come across recently and figured I'd post it here to see if any more details can be provided by the collective brain trust.

There seems to be mounting evidence that before they moved to Duryea, PA in 1965 some Topps cards were actually printed in part by a firm in Philadelphia called Zabel Brothers Printing. My suspicion is that the uncut sheets were transported to Topps' facility in Brooklyn's Bush Terminal, very possibly by barge (but truck would work too), where they were cut and inserted into packs along with the gum manufactured in Brooklyn. Lord Baltimore Printing of Baltimore also printed Topps cards in this era and maybe in the same way, with uncut sheets going to Brooklyn either by barge or truck. I think wrappers for cards not sold with gum may have been printed in Philly or Baltimore as well and boxed in each plant. This theory is partly based upon a large find of 51 Red Back Doubles packs (no gum in these) in the Philly area and known glass negatives produced by Lord Baltimore Printing.

Topps had docking facilities at Bush Terminal and barging is an extremely likely method of transport in this timeframe. And don't forget the use of garbage scows to dump excess 52 high numbers in 1960-scows for non-governmental businesses in NYC are owned or operated by tug companies and are after all, barges and they had lots of confectionery raw materials delivered by barge.

I think it possible Zabel printed Fleer and Philly Gum cards too.

Now, it is possible Topps also printed at their Brooklyn plant and these two printers were for overflow work. I also believe a third printer, likely located in Rochester, NY also printed some Topps cards over the years. However, it may be that only the cards that had gum in their packaging were cut and packed in Brooklyn.

Anyone out there have some more info or thoughts?