Know When To Fold 'Em

Some more Topps Fold-A-Roo scans have emerged since I last took a look at this uber-scarce set in 2014 and also 2018.  A complete opposite-fashioned ripoff of Al Jaffee's MAD Magazine Fold-Ins, which debuted in 1964 (and which would repeatedly be ripped off by Topps as time passed) Fold-A-Roos were tested around 1966-67 (I suspect the latter year is more correct than the former), with only 24 of the advertised 36 subjects issued.  I'm trying to document as many subjects as I can and this is the latest batch.

This was number 1:

Folding the bottom flap over revealed a punchline:

OK, not the best joke.  Might as well show the reverse, as my last attempt was in grainy B&W:

No. 2 continues the meh-like trend:

As does no. 3:

One we get to no. 9, things pick up a bit:

See?

I dunno, the whole thing seems pretty lackluster overall:

No. 35 really doesn't improve upon things:

See what I mean?

Toting up the images seen in my (now three posts) on the set this is what's identified so far:

1,2,3,6,9,20,24,30,35,36

Plus there are two or three known in proof form but because of how they were laid out, each proof only contains one part or the other of the setup and gag.

My impression is that the set just wasn't smart-alecky enough and that the gimmick was pretty lame. The fragile nature of this test makes them a very difficult quarry these days though. They can't all be winners, right?

Getting Testy

Going to lay some eye candy on you today kids, in the form of some Topps test packs.

Topps was infamous for running very brief tests of products in at least four ways: lab testing with kids and the product in a controlled setting, handing out test items at local schools, giving distributors and salesmen a few samples to see the enthusiasm level among their buyers, and throwing a box or two of boxes on select retail store counters and gauging the public's response. The latter method is by far the most well known today and many test products, especially those from the 1966-74 period are rare and expensive (especially if sports related) these days. Before 1966, well it's not easy to to tell how tests were conducted at the retail level.

The retail test packaging that is known today mostly was created using plain white wax wrappers, with a product sticker on the front sans price and, if the product was being tested with a confectionery item within, a small ingredients label on the back that also served to "seal" the pack.  These, it is said, often resided in a generic white box and that's presumably where the pack price was displayed as these were never marked as to cost. Around 1974 this started being supplanted by different mediums and Topps also started doing more specific tests, such as using two price points. Almost all Topps products, except their recurring annual sports issues were tested in one or more forms and almost always at the retail level. Many products failed their tests and never made it to a full blown release.  Others were designed for a regional sales campaign, or promoted from test status for such a purpose, and are often found in greater numbers than those that were just tested at retail.

Test packaging is not always extant for certain issues and of course some sets are legendary rarities.  One such set is the 1966 Baseball Punchboards where the wrapper is not even known, just a bare description of it, from Rob Lifson:

Topps designed and proofed a retail box for the set:

Great cards, almost impossible to find!

It's possible the full checklist for this set is not complete.  In 2009 14 two card panels out of what I speculated were a set of 18 were known.  I don't believe the count has changed since then.  These are among the hardest-to-find tests Topps ever created and some of the Hall of Famers can go for staggering sums.

1966 (that date may not be firm, I suspect it's a little later) also brought a tough Non-Sports test, Fold-A-Roos.  This pack illustrates how typical stickers on both front and back look:

That front may not match up with this back and at least a couple of packs are known to have survived:

It's a tough set and not may people know about it. Being metamorphic makes it very unlikely many of these are still around:

Examples of a regional test or limited issue are well-known to baseball collectors.  These two 1967 sticker sets appear to have been a test AND a regional issue. You can actually find these in the wild:

If there's a test wrapper with sticker, it may replicate the above two pack fronts. Also on display the retail box which is not plain white:

The Pirates box is known in proof form:

That product code on the reverse eliminates this as a test box proof.  The stickers look great BTW, with 33 per team, so 66 across both sets:

Topps thought about a similar pin issue as well that featured just San Francisco Giants but it never launched in any form except as a proof.

Here's one more for today, from perhaps the most popular of all the test issues, 1968's 3-D Baseball:

Sorry but I can't find an ingredients sticker, maybe someone will send me one and I'll pop it in here.

Back with more tests next week!

Fold Over

The parade of hard-to-find Topps non-sports items continues unabated this summer. Today's topic: 1966 Topps Fold-a-roos, a super tough test issue that most collectors have never heard of.

Skip numbering from 1-36 indicates the test was partial (unissued nos: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29) and the extreme lack of extant examples indicate it was unsuccessful. I've covered the set before, although as I explained in my prior post, it seems the date should be 1967 or later. 1966 is based upon the Topps COA's, these being sold by the Topps Vault, but they have been off on some of their dates before!

In case you don't remember, here is what an unfolded subject looks like:

Now that Topps Vault is selling production proofs of these, here is part of that Fold-a-roo, even though it's a proof:

The "We know someone who likes you" straight line would appear to apply to a gag that ends " because he's bats" so maybe these were cut wrong.  For fun, here's the gag, right side up (the straight line is "I really like you a lot...)":

That was from an old Legendary Auction that seems to have had a mix of issued and unissued subjects.

Here's a couple more proofs:

Neat little set, tough little items! 

Folding Funny

Topps test issues from the 60's are tough buggers to track down, especially when they involve metamorphic cards such as today's subject: Fold-A-Roos. Generally ascribed to 1966, the actual date of issue is not certain. What is known is that they came in a typical Topps test pack:

The curved-t Topps logo debuted in 1966 but I don't believe the little registered trademark symbol was added until 1967 nor did these style packs debut until then.  Given that and the slightly psychedelic lettering, I would place the date at 1968-69.

There are 24 known subjects, skip numbered to 36,which look like this in their folded state, as per a Legendary auction a while back:

You would unfold the "card", which was made of paper, to reveal a funny response.  For instance, the "I got up to 100 MPH in my sports car" comment is followed by "...the day I saw a fire breathing dragon, as this illustration from Chris Benjamin's The Sport Americana Guide to the Non Sports Cards shows:

I've resorted to a b&w scan as these are scarce and I don't own one. I had to clip a reverse extract from Chris Watson's Non-Sports Bible:

Yes, they are numbered and examples are known up to #36, which appears to be the end number based upon the above scan mentioning "30 of 36".  Bob Marks wrote a great article in The Wrapper #68 about the set and noted original artwork was known for both issued cards and unissued ones. The amount of unissued artwork led him to believe there were more than 12 additional subjects being planned but if the first series was to consist of 36 only, that means a second series must have been contemplated.  Marks also noted the "answer" flap was part of the reverse as issued, lightly glued down until the card was opened. It would appear the flap would be brought around to the front and cover up the previous bottom part of the card, which would also unfold downward along the center fold.

The Fold-A-Roos gimmick essentially reversed Mad magazine's Fold-Ins, drawn by the inimitable Al Jaffee. They measure about 2 1/2" x 4 11/16" in its closed state and the height increases to 3 9/16" once unfurled, according to Benjamin. They must not have tested well and may have been a bit hokey, even by the standards of the day.