In his book, The Bubble Gum Card War, covering the Topps and Bowman competition and sets, 1948 to 1955, Dean indicates that in 1951 Bowman was offering players $ 100 for a contract to use their likeness. Topps was paying
$ 125 for an exclusive contract and $ 75 for a non exclusive contract. Many payers apparently signed more than one exclusive contract....although contracts were not exclusive as to the use of the likeness alone, but in connection with the marketing of the likeness with candy and or gum ( confections)
I did find the reference you mention in Mint Condition at page 106/107. Apparently Topps tried to get players to take goods in place of or as a partial replacement of some of the $ 125 cash payment. It says Topps bought certain household goods in bulk and listed them in a catalog or brochure it sent to each clubhouse. Such goods were apparently of more interest to some players than the cash
If the catalogs/brochures were produced by a 3d party without reference to Topps it might be hard to identify it as a baseball related item. I know some companies used to hire a 3d party to produce catalogs of gifts their employees could chose as sales incentive awards. By contrast the later Topps Rookie Award Banquet programs are more identifiable as a Topps specific publication and might have been kept as collectible
Last edited by ALR-bishop; 06-27-2017 at 09:00 AM.
|