1961 Topps "Pre-Production" Dick Howser
 

I picked this up last night and don't really know what I bought. I noticed Heritage did not call this "original art". What can y'all tell me about the production of 1961 Topps? Anyone else have something like this? Is it a colorized photo? I am assuming this is a "Topps Vault" piece. I'll post better scans when I have it in hand...Rob

Neat item. If it did come from Topps Vault is there by chance a certificate on the back of the frame or within the frame. I have a marked up pre production sheet of 64 Stand Ups with similar notations

https://oi1267.photobucket.com/album...sSheets003.jpg

It's a production art piece with instructions on coloring pencilled in by Woody Gelman. Howser was a rookie in 1961 so they probably took an old minor league B&W photo (or possibly one in KC duds in Spring Training since he's in the fifth series I think) and executed the Flexichrome coloring process on it, possibly with an airbrush assist. That artwork appeared in the 1989 Topps Guernsey's Auction Catalog (page 65, Lot C10), you can see the lot number on the sticker. I suspect there is a COA on the back or if not, one was originally included by Topps. That's a ridiculously neat piece, super colorful. It sold for $1,800 in 1989, plus 10% BP, which was one of the higher prices for common Flexichrome art in the auction.

I posted about Flexichrome a few years ago, it's a labor intensive process for sure.

http://www.thetoppsarchives.com/2011...rome-away.html

Great input as usual Dave.

Thanks Al-I updated the original post to show it's from the 1989 Guernsey's auction.

Beautiful! This is not a Topps Vault item - looks to have the 1989 Topps Auction stamp on the top right. Odd that they stamped it on the front, since most times I have seen the stamp on the back. The flexichromes are great - I still can't comprehend how they get the colors, detail, and shading so precise on these small pieces. OK, other than incredible talent!

Al, I like that 64-Stand-Ups display. Very cool piece.

Dave and Marty, thanks for the information. Very helpful.

I noticed that the Howser is framed in a similar way to the 1953 Topps Calderone that sold a couple of days before. It may have been owned by the same collector. I'm more familiar with the mini-paintings that form the basis for the card.

Also I found an old REA auction of the 1961 "Mantle Blasts" card, which has a detailed description. From what I've learned, this Howser could be called the "original artwork" for the card. Thanks, Rob

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/...-card-artwork/

59/60T Gentile

That would absolutely be considered original artwork for the card! I went and looked at the Heritage auction description, and I think they seriously under described it! A "final pre-printing" sounds like a printed proof, and that's not what this is. I think the original sale price at the Topps auction (especially in 1989) was VERY high, and I think the price you got it at was pretty low! So hard to know with these true 1/1s - maybe the original buyer was a big fan of Kansas City sports, since he was with KC in this artwork, and had won the World Series managing the Royals (before his tragic passing) a few years prior to 1989.

Anyway, love these flexichromes - nice to see some folks share theirs!

A touched up photo is the original art if it was photographed to make the card. Here is an example from the Vault:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...Cunningham.jpg

Is it possible that the Howser is a 'draft' version used to make decisions on colors for the final?

Hey Adam! The Howser is definitely a flexichrome "painting" of an original (likely) B&W photo. The notes visible appear to be instructions on how the picture was to be painted, with instructions like "Red KC" and "Black and red stocking - Red Stripe" for the cap insignia and the stripe on the socks. I think they would generally note fine adjustments in the printers proof process, as I have seen proofs where notations on the colors were made. But I will let others more versed on the process chime in!

Yup, flexichromed. What they did after I don't know exactly but they cropped it up top (note the top horizontal line on the right side tape) and also (unindicated) a little on each side before adding the neatline and player and team name plates below. It's the best example -- and certainly the most colorful -- of an original Topps flexi I can ever recall seeing.

I think the unissued Pumpsie Green I have is from the same year as the Gentile - I am guessing 1959. Looks like they both would have been suitable in style to the other Sporting News Rookie cards, many of which look to have been flexichromed. Pumpsie did get called up later in 1959 breaking the color barrier for the Red Sox, the last team to do so.

My blog post on the Howser is up-thanks again to Rob:

http://www.thetoppsarchives.com/2020...bout-that.html

61 Howser
 

Nice blog post, Dave, I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot from this thread and the blog.

I received the Howser from Heritage. They did a nice job packing and shipping it. It is in a frame with paper-backing from a New Jersey frame shop. I'm hanging it in my office, so I don't want to tear into the back. I'll leave that to the next owner down the line. Rob

Agree-I wouldn't touch it. If you open it, you probably have to conserve it.