1958 Topps Error card question

[steve B]

It would be pretty tough to remove the black without also removing some of the blue behind it. I'm sure it's been tried.

Pre internet there were a lot of things that were challenging. Errors and variations were one of those. If a card made the list of someone who had some influence it would be on many want lists. But printing technology of the time made it very expensive to make a list with pictures. So all anyone could rely on was some authorities list of what existed.

Even in 78 when the proto Beckett book came out there weren't many variations listed. There was a variation book by Ralph Nozaki in I think 75, and that may be where some of the listings originated. I know his book has the Bakep and the herrer listed.

Like many lists it had its faults. I heard when I got my copy that he wouldn't list any card he hadn't seen in person. A decent but limiting policy. There was also some talk that some stuff made the list because he had a bunch of them. Not such a good policy. (Both I class as rumors only, I never met him so I have no firsthand knowledge) His listing of uncorrected errors must have taken hundreds of hours with thousands of cards. With fringe areas of collecting you simply won't find anyone cataloging the stuff that doesn't collect it or deal in it.

Once a variation is acepted as a variation it's hard to delist it. And if it's an uncommon but flashy printing error it will get expensive making it that much harder to delist. Company size can affect that as well, Upper deck reprinted their own cards at least once with the extra printing going to friends. Those cards are beckett listed, and graded by any grading company. Star basketball seems to have either reprinted or understated the actual print runs and they're pretty much out. (Licensing is involved as well?)

I take a very technical view of variations, one that not many agree with. To me a variation is a diference on the plate, wether accidental or deliberately corrected. I've taken to the term varieties for anything minor and mostly unrecognized.

The Herrer is a puzzle. I'm not really sure how to classify it. It looks like an underinked card, but underinked in one area. The cards near it should have been affected in some way. But I haven't seen a mention of them. It could be from a plate that didn't get completely developed, but then, it's inconsistent. So there would have to be at least two and from what I'm reading here probably several plates that didn't get exposed or developed correctly. And that makes little to no sense even with the poor quality control.
So it's probably a fairly common somewhat consistent and major printing flaw - which is quite unusual.

Steve B