That's an interesting bit of plate! The one I have is a full card image border and all.
Topps did a lot of proofing that I find odd. The shop I worked for did nearly no proofing, the few I saw were essentially large photos taken directly from the mask (The full plate size negative used to make the plates - which is made from opaque paper or plastic with lots of smaller negatives taped to it. On some 81 fleer you can see the tape at the top or bottom of the picture)
But that was a job shop that didn't do much artwork. The stuff being done was usually supplied as finished original art by the customer.
Topps did paper proofs, acetate overlay proofs, cardboard proofs, and a whole lot of other stuff.
I'd guess this was a plate that printed the photos they chose either so they could see how it looked printed, or so they could design different borders on paper and view the pics through cutouts - or just paint the design directly onto the proof. Either way it's from early in the design process.
Steve B
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