Saturday, August 5, 2023

All Mod Stick-Ons

I managed to snag some grail-like pieces a couple of months ago, in the form of Topps Mod Generation Stickers, believed to have been issued in 1969. While I've covered these previously (see here and then click down as far as you interest takes you) it's been using production items like transparencies and proofs, as these are truly rare birds since the test of these seems to have failed miserably. That failure, coupled with the built-in self-destruction offered by any kind of stickers, has led to a supply issue that's stretched well over a half-century now.

So here are 13 of these bad boys (and girls), in all their hippie-fied, psychedelic glory:


The detail on some of these is impressive. Check out the bead and fringe work on the halter top and the pattern on the bellbottoms Frances is wearing (and is that a marijuana leaf tattoo around her belly button?):


As you can see, most of these are full figures, with just a single portrait in the batch I snagged.  As expected, the backs are blank:


Something intrigues me about these beyond the look of the stickers though.  Topps generally (although not always) included some kind of card in their sticker packs to stiffen the novelty, even in a test pack, but I've never seen any reference to one for this issue. I'm not sure why that is.  Perhaps the answer lies in a couple of other obscure sets, neither of which has yet to yield me a type example.  Those would be Pop Guns (commodity code indicates 1971) and Goofy Goggles (said to be 1967), both roughly issued around the same time as Mod Generation and just as scarce. Both of these were sold in an elongated envelope, like the almost-perennial Flying Things, but I do wonder if one of them was planned to ride along.  Probably not but the idea intrigues me.

3 comments:

Brett Alan said...

I would say that that's not a marijuana leaf, but it's intentionally designed to resemble one enough to please those "in the know" while giving Topps and/or the artist plausible deniability if it is questioned.

sliced tongue said...

OK, I've been reading this amazing site for years, and I have to note that this is probably my favorite title for one of your posts to date. Great job!

toppcat said...

Ha, glad someone appreciates them!