Wheel Of Confusion

Recently I posted about some of the 3-D prototypes that have popped up in various auctions this Fall, noting there was a little more that could be shown.  Well, here is something that's pretty way out that was part of one trove:

Like, wow man! Isn't that crazy?  Here's a closeup of part of the disc:

I really have no idea what's going on there but I like it quite a bit.  That disc actually rode atop the three 3-D Soccer prototypes that were recently discussed here. Here's an image of the full page from the marketing book, courtesy of  Friend o'the Archive Andrew Wolfe:

As I have mentioned previously, Look Magazine was owned by Cowles Communications, who in turn owned the only printing press - via their Visual Panographics subsidiary - able to produce such wonders. At some point Xograph, which had a similar 3-D process, licensed their tech to Cowles. Both Visual Panograhics and Xograph are mentioned on the back stamps of some 1968 Baseball 3-D cards, so I suspect a patent battle was staved off by that, or some specific form of the technology was needed to pull off certain feats. Xograph, in case you have forgotten, was the trade name for "parallax panoramagram", a particular brand of lenticular technology (other forms were developed by Vari-Vue and Kodak Eastman), so it's an open question as to what was being prepared to show to Topps versus what was being made available to all potential clients.

Football, You Bet!

Continuing from last week, the trove of 3-D protoypes recently auctioned by Heritage contained four subjects beyond the dozen Baseball players already dissected here. Let's start today with Football, U.S. style. Update: The PSA labeling references affiliation with Topps, I'm not sure if that's because they came from a Topps executive or whether Heritage has some details ting them in.

There are four known U.S. Football subjects in the 3-D prototypes, two of Bart Starr and two of Tucker Frederickson, who each appear in two different sizes.  The other Starr is larger than a normal card, more like 5x7 inches as is a Frederickson, although Tucker has the same pose on both sizes seen to date. This Starr is a lot nicer than the other, which has some condition issues:

You can see a little nub on the top border; these seem to have been produced much like the Kellogg's Baseball cards that would begin to appear in 1970, also using the Xograph process (which is a trade name used by Visual Panographics). As with the Baseball examples, the backs are all pristine, or close to it, with no back stamps. In a Freaky Friday kind of move, the larger Starr has no fake autograph!

If you scroll down the above link for the damaged Starr, a less damaged (and slightly tilty) Frederickson appears, showing pull marks at the upper left similar to those found on some issued Baseball examples. That's the same size as the one Heritage has, and it's a little more rectangular then the big Starr. I don't  have permission to show my scan of the larger Frederickson card but believe it measures roughly 7 x 9 inches.

This is all very interesting to me as the process was clearly being worked out with what was fairly new technology.  Topps had interest in overseas Football as well, no surprise as they had been selling internationally almost since their 1938 founding. Update: Again, the Topps affiliation on the label is noted.

We've seen this Cané before, although unlike the current example, with a backstamp.  Here's the unmarred example:

Note how squared off the card is. There is a Sarti offered by Heritage with the same characteristics:

Much like the "big boy" Frederickson, I don't have permission to show the scan in my files of the third European football, Rivera of Milan but it uses the same graphics as the Cané and is also squared off like these two.

Meanwhile, a really weird one from the Topps file copies is this Captain America:

The artwork seems a little off-model to me, although Cap was in the midst of a reboot, likely due to some legal maneuverings, starting in 1968, so who knows? What I do know is this Cap prototype sold for a whopping $52,460!

 I'll see if I can get the OK to post the mysterious 3-D scans mentioned above, stay tuned.

A Whole New Dimension

Heritage Auctions recently concluded an auction that featured the holdings of an ex-Topps executive, which is something that happens once or twice a year now it seems.  These consignments often yield rare, sometimes almost impossible, items and this latest batch contained several jaw-dropping pieces.  The executive is unnamed but Heritage theorizes he may have held a full array of examples from the entire run of prototypes that eventually resulted in the test release of 3-D Baseball in 1968.  That's incorrect as some, but not all, of the issued Baseball 3-D's are here and two of the known Football subjects are missing but the array is certainly impressive and appears to feature a good bit o'fresh to the hobby goodness. 

The consignment also has football (US and soccer-style) prototypes and a surprise non-sports subject.  Today I want to focus on baseball, given the wonderfully exciting World Series that will conclude tonight, capping the first MLB season to begin and end outside of the United States no less. Let's kick off with the semi-unicorn Brooks Robinson prototype-yowsa!

I last examined the 3-D Brooksies in detail way back in 2014 and found four extant copies were known, all of which have distinguishing features.  Among those features were varying degrees of damage and/or dirt on each each. It appears a fifth was hammered by Heritage in 2023 as well.

The front of the Heritage example is almost pristine, as is the back:

There's some extremely light foxing that's just barely there-this sucker is clean! This essentially unblemished look makes this a sixth extant example of this card by my reckoning. I don't normally get involved with prices here except for exceptional things like this and the hammer ended up being an impressive $134,200.

Next up is our old friend M. Clough, who usually goes by the moniker Yaz. At least one of these was known already and you can see it here, along with some other goodies we'll get to next time out. As with the Robinson card, the Clough/Yaz is also very, very clean:

That little white dot on the bill of his cap seems to be on the original source image.  $34,160 brought this one home, no doubt impinged by the lack of Yaz's name appearing.  It was pretty common to use fake names on such creations back then. The reverse looks even brighter than Brooksie's:

However, look at this image and the Robinson, you will note the absence of the Xograph back stamps on these, which identified the firm and also indicated they were samples to be returned to them.  The previously known "Clough" and one of the B. Robby's has a stamp (and another Robinson has remnants of one showing), so these were apparently meant for Topps to retain after that part of the process played out.

There were also ten 3-D Baseball cards in the batch, the three of which make up the known proofs that never made it to the test packs. I'll pass on copying all of them out here, just click over to Heritage to see.

The Robinson and Clough garnered AUT grades, whereas the three prototypes that come close to resembling the final product received two 4's and 5 from PSA.  The remaining seven issued 3-D cards range from PSA 4 to 8, although the backs all look pretty clean as well, save for some light foxing on a couple. So I'm not sure all of these were Xograph samples but it really doesn't matter, given the ongoing popularity of the 3-D Baseball set.

Football from all sorts of places next time out, plus the surprise!

A Yaz By Any Other Name

Some nice prices were recently realized in a recent auction or two over at Heritage for a couple of prototypes that were created as the 1968 Topps 3-D Baseball set  was being developed and, while I don't typically focus on values here (and also discussed some of these about three months ago), it seems instructive to do so here.

This example of the Brooks Robinson prototype, which has a tear at the bottom, is now in a PSA Authentic slab and went for a cool 60 Grand:

I believe that is a record for this card, where a mere handful exist, with a definite upward trendline on pricing. Also of note, was $21 K for this nom-de plumed Yaz in the same auction:

It too now resides in an Authentic slab, SGC in flavor. That is likely the first recorded sale for this one. 

Meanwhile, the Roberto Clemente prototype I discussed here only last month, went for a paltry $3,145.20:

Granted, it was on illustration board and a mock-up vs. a  mostly finished prototype, I think it went w-a-a-a-y cheap, especially considering Clemente's staying power in the hobby marketplace.

The 1968 3-D's clearly remain popular, whether they are are proofs, prototypes or actual issued cards. Whether or not the more esoteric mockups and the like from other sets will catch up remains to be seen but as prices move up for the 3-D's production materials, I suspect that will raise the price of other such items as well, at least for Hall-of-Famers.

Happy Festivus!

Look Back In Lenticular

Bit-by-bit, little details emerge about the production of the 1968 Topps 3-D Baseball set, which as intrepid readers here know, I consider to be one of the finest limited releases sets ever put out by the company.  Prototypes, thought to be created specifically for Topps (more on that momentarily) were prepared by Visual Panographics of New York City, using a process they dubbed Xograph.  You've probably seen a reference to both on the backs of the Kellogg's cards of the era.  

It's those Kellogg's cards that muddy the waters a tad but everything I've ever seen in various auctions and writings of knowledgeable collectors indicates the 1968 3-D's and their various prototypes and proofs were prepared for Topps. So while things like this could theoretically fall into the category of "attributed to Topps" without more evidence, I think it's safe to call the prototypes and proofs Topps items. 

The issued cards have their quirks but like many scarcer Topps products, were born in a retail test pack:

Which in turn came in a box that was likely plain, with a just a price sticker affixed..  A retail box was designed but in all probability never used:

(both images above courtesy Robert Edward Auctions)

Note the lack of a commodity code on the box bottom, which sometimes happened as sets and marketing were being developed.  This lack of a code would also sometimes occur for items produced by a third party. The 3-D cards were designed to catch the eye and looked like this:

The Xograph logo is prominent in the lower left corner and the design would clearly be refined and form a template for the 1969 regular-issue Baseball cards. The reverse is blank, as this partial test pack content shows:

There would have been two cards within, plus the little easel seen at right, which is a scarce thing, and was gummed on the entire obverse:

It's long been theorized the cards were tested in Brooklyn before production was halted by Topps. Whether that stoppage was due to cost and/or issues with the materials used (some cards are found with "pull marks" visible), it seems any excess stock was bled off via a small coterie of hobby dealers, all with connections to Topps.

Pre-production items can be found but they are rare (and expensive):

It looks like autographs could have been considered as part of the design but it's not clear how that display was put together or by whom and the link to the item at Heritage appears to be broken. You can see a Tommy Davis card in the middle of the right hand column. He's one of many proofs known in almost final form, although he never made the set:

 

Apologies for all the cribbed images, I only own two of these, one of which is a sample with a stamped back.  You can clearly see two pull marks at the lower left of my Swoboda's obverse:

The back has a proprietary notice from Visual Panographics:

That style of ink-stamped back is also known in black:

It's not clear why two colors of back stamp exist.   I've covered this before but will note again that a Futbol protype was created as well. It seems a little strange but Topps as a major international concern at this point:

This has a similar back stamp in the "Swoboda style":

(both images above courtesy Keith Olbermann)

The size of the Futbol card can't be ascertained but it seems smaller than the Baseball prototypes based upon the cramped stamp. Another variant of back stamp in black has been seen though:

That back belongs to a Football front:

You can click over to see but two other Football pieces exist as well, one of which is another view of Starr and then this larger piece of Tucker Frederickson, described as being around the size of a 1974 Topps Baseball Puzzle:

Image sources vary, and it's possible none of them came from the Topps photo files. 

Now take a look at that stamp on the back of the Starr prototype, it's also seen here as detailed in a old edition of The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards:

I wonder if that means this style of stamp, with its larger all caps "title" line, indicates a true proof vs. a pre-production concept sample? Or perhaps it was a door opener made up by Visual Panographics.

Now, we get to the main reason for this post.  What appears to be a fifth Brook Robinson card has popped up and was recently featured in a Postwar Cards Newsletter, along with another very special American League player, one M. Clough:

OK it's obviously Yaz, as anyone can plainly see.  Topps would sometimes do mockups and the like using weird or incorrect names so it's not surprising here.  The reverse of the Yaz prototype gives us a pasted on version of the "Swoboda style" stamp:

Which all leads to our latest Brooks Robinson prototype:

Notice the large tear or crack running up from the bottom border into Robinson's jersey.  I think four other versions of this card are out there (see here for more on these):

1) Wavy

2) Clean (The SGC AUTHENTIC)

3) Dog Ear

4) Stamped Back (STANDARD CATALOG)

The reverse of this particular B. Robby shows signs of having the "Yaz style" pasted on stamp:

You can see the tear here as well, which is a great identifying mark.  Hopefully additional protypes and samples will pop up and can provide more details about this endlessly fascinating set.

3DBB Meets 2FB

OK, it appears I managed to completely miss a truly epic Topps 3D prototype in the latest Huggins & Scott auction. Forgive me for repeating myself a bit here but what I believe to be a third example of the ultra-rare Brooks Robinson prototype was gaveled recently and it's a sight to behold:

Looks like Brooksie has a mouthful of crease, no?  There is also a scuff running at 45 degree downward angle from the E in Orioles toward the right border plus a dog eared lower left corner and a few other assorted scrapes and bruises.  The SGC 20 grade certainly appears accurate. I think the dog ear is the easiest was to ID this particular example:

To refresh your collective memories, here are the other two Robinson prototypes, the first an SCG AUTH and the second an example that was probably the first one to be seen:

 

The AUTH example at top is the cleanest of the three while the one at the bottom has a wavy little crack going through the La nd E of Orioles.  The back is known for the AUTH version and is clean but with a lot of foxing, just like the Dog Ear version, which I will show here:

The AUTH back is here and it's a little cleaner:

The Wavy prototype's back is unknown, which is important since there is at least one out there with a Xograph stamped back as shown in The Standard Catalog:

I can't tell if that is the same card as the Wavy one, so it's unclear if three or four examples are now known. I'm going to name them now:

1) Wavy

2) Clean (The SGC AUTH)

3) Dog Ear

4) Stamped Back* (asterisk as it could be the same as #1 but I don't necessarily think so).

In addition to the soccer card prototype previously discussed here, there are two other prototypes from the world of Football, albeit American style.  Friend o'the Archive Mike Blaisdell has sent along a couple of righteous scans, the first of Bart Starr and the second of Tucker Frederickson, which would date from around the 1967-68 era I think:

I'm not sure on sizing but Starr seems more square than ol' Tucker (who in turn appears handcut).  Keith Olbermann's authoritative article on the 3D cards in an SCD article dated March 23, 2007 does not mention the two cards of Starr and Frederickson but does mention the Cane (soccer) prototype.  Frederiskon is in an SGC AUTH holder so the registry over there should hold some additional information. I wonder if more are out there waiting to be found?

Ripple Effect

Spring is in the air and we all know what that means-REA's annual auction has blasted off and as always presents many wondrous things to bid and behold.  As longtime readers of this blog know, REA has long been a honey hole of Topps test issues and this time around there is a really neat piece that is related to the prototype 3-D cards used to develop 1968's 3-D Baseball.

There is a well known Brooks Robinson prototype card that you can see in the links linked above but Xograph/Visual Panographics also created a Football (Soccer) prototype that is equally as rare:

Love that team font!  The player depicted is actually a Brazilian named Jarbas Faustinho who player for Napoli from 1962-63 through 1968-69 before departing for three years. The back is blank but stamped in similar fashion to may baseball 3-D's:

Compare that to the stamps on the baseball versions (which are pre-production and not a prototype like the Robinson, which is unstamped):

As you can plainly see, the stamp is contained within the dimensions of the baseball version but not so on the soccer card.  Ergo, it must be a tad tinier but I'm not so sure. It also appears that the back of the soccer card uses a font made  up of dots, possibly from a dot matrix printer, while the blurriness of the baseball example above looks like a true rubber stamp was used.

It's a neat piece and like the Robinson prototype the number of extant examples can surely be counted on one hand.  Both the Robinson prototype and this card are said to come from an old Xograph employee so it looks some examples were returned to them after all!