Here's some news on a new anniversary series from Topps that is shaping up to be something pretty cool!

Celebrating 75 Years of Topps

I'm definitely interested, this sounds fun.

Sounds like a really cool set!

The article says Topps is celebrating 75 years of non-sport cards starting with Magic Photo in 1948.

I think something has a typo because that would make 65 years in 2013.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
The article says Topps is celebrating 75 years of non-sport cards starting with Magic Photo in 1948.

I think something has a typo because that would make 65 years in 2013.

I believe it's the 75th anniversary of the company, not of non-sports cards, or even cards period.

quote:

Originally posted by Martian Commander:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
The article says Topps is celebrating 75 years of non-sport cards starting with Magic Photo in 1948.

I think something has a typo because that would make 65 years in 2013.

I believe it's the 75th anniversary of the company, not of non-sports cards, or even cards period.

Yeah I figured Topps knows its anniversary, its the 1948 mention that doesn't add up.

So what was the first Topps set? Had to be in 1938.

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:

quote:

Originally posted by Martian Commander:

quote:

Originally posted by Raven:
The article says Topps is celebrating 75 years of non-sport cards starting with Magic Photo in 1948.

I think something has a typo because that would make 65 years in 2013.

I believe it's the 75th anniversary of the company, not of non-sports cards, or even cards period.

Yeah I figured Topps knows its anniversary, its the 1948 mention that doesn't add up.

So what was the first Topps set? Had to be in 1938.

Topps was founded in 1938 as a chewing gum company.

quote:

Originally posted by Martian Commander:
Yeah I figured Topps knows its anniversary, its the 1948 mention that doesn't add up.

So what was the first Topps set? Had to be in 1938.

Topps was founded in 1938 as a chewing gum company.[/QUOTE]

Got it now. I remember getting those pink gum sticks in baseball card packs when I was kid and I did chew them.

When did they stop putting bubble gum in cards and why?

I can't tell you exactly what year it stopped. They had gum in the 70's and I'm pretty sure there was gum for a good part of the 80's.

There were two main reasons it stopped. First if the pack laid around for a long time before being opened, that gum slab got pretty stale. Then it would just crack to pieces and was not chewable.

But the big reason was when cards became "collectibles". That's when wax packs changed and gum sticks came out. Both the gum and the wax pack seal would affect the cards that were laying right against the gum and the sealed portion of the wrappers. You would have cards that had noticable stains, if not even bits of sugar and adhesive attached to them.

There was even a debate as to the best way to get gum stains off of cards. Actually hard rubbing with a nylon stocking was the best way to remove the bits, but if the card was badly stained on the back nothing would help.

Of course once cards became valuable such damage could not be tolerated, so the packaging was changed and all gum was removed. When Topps briefly brought back the gum a few years ago, I think Indiana Jones had them, the sticks were wrapped in cellopane to prevent touching the cards. However the added expense probably wasn't worth it because I don't believe Topps tried it again afterwards.

Thanks very much. I think I have some of those gums wrapped in cellophane somewhere.

quote:

There was even a debate as to the best way to get gum stains off of cards. Actually hard rubbing with a nylon stocking was the best way to remove the bits, but if the card was badly stained on the back nothing would help.

Actually you can't remove gum stains with a nylon stocking, but you can remove wax coatings with the stocking. Many cards had wax residue from being on the back of the pack that was
heat sealed on the card front but with a bit of careful rubbing it could be removed with no damage to the card front. Yes, I'm old! Once a card is gum stained there is no going back the card is ruined.

quote:

Originally posted by Batman:

quote:

There was even a debate as to the best way to get gum stains off of cards. Actually hard rubbing with a nylon stocking was the best way to remove the bits, but if the card was badly stained on the back nothing would help.

Actually you can't remove gum stains with a nylon stocking, but you can remove wax coatings with the stocking. Many cards had wax residue from being on the back of the pack that was
heat sealed on the card front but with a bit of careful rubbing it could be removed with no damage to the card front. Yes, I'm old! Once a card is gum stained there is no going back the card is ruined.

Yeah we are dating ourselves.

Quite right, a stain is a stain and the card was ruined. What I was talking about was the crusty residue that would come on the front of the cards. Hard rubbing with nylon does take it off from the more glossier front surface, in case anyone is still buying vintage sports cards. But those black stains that usually came on the card backs were just absorbed into the cardboard and can never be removed.

I noticed Blowout Cards has removed Topps 75th from their release calendar. I wonder if it has been delayed. It was down for a November release.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry609:
I noticed Blowout Cards has removed Topps 75th from their release calendar. I wonder if it has been delayed. It was down for a November release.

Gerry:

I checked in with Topps today and was told the Topps 75th release is now on tap for December (it was November previously). Perhaps that's why Blowout Cards removed it, though I am not sure about that end of things.

Thanks Harris,
I am interested in this product, but after the issues with American Pie (Non existent redemptions, I have had 4) I will wait to see if they have any redemptions in this product.

Any news on this? Is it still scheduled for next month? I think it sounds very promising, but am surprised there is so little word on it.

I plan to sit it out and wait for the early birds who rip & flip to see what the boxes contain. If there are any redemptions, I will wait until they go on clearance and then buy lots just for fun to break. Did the same for their last effort.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry609:
I plan to sit it out and wait for the early birds who rip & flip to see what the boxes contain. If there are any redemptions, I will wait until they go on clearance and then buy lots just for fun to break. Did the same for their last effort.

I'm hoping to pick up a couple of base sets cheap. The other stuff doesn't interest me enough to buy a box.