Solid blocks of color dominated Topps designs in 1959. They clearly were not worried about the price of color ink. Here are baseball and football.
Baseball was the only sport where they showed some background in '59. The most notable aspect of the '60 set is the alternating colors in the player name, which would show up in the baseball set the next year.
Here's hockey. In all three sports Topps used several different background colors.
Topps's other major release in 1959 was a set for the teen heartthrob Fabian. Nothing he did was too mundane for a card. The design, like most Topps non-sports sets, was quite minimal, with the record being a nice bit of decoration.
Topps also put a monster jokes set out called "You'll Die Laughing". The focus is on the art, with the design just space for a caption at the bottom.
Topps also put out some snarky "Wacky Plaks" with similar humor. These are made to look like they were on a plank of wood.
I've never seen a 1959 Topps hockey card before.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you know, or have even mentioned, Jack Davis did cartoons for Topps baseball card backs, 1960 and 1962 for example.
I used to wonder why Topps had different designs for each sport, but then I see what happens nowadays (Panini - yawn) and appreciate those old Topps designs much more.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with all of these designs... except their hockey set. Hadn't seen that design before.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who grew up listening to older music and watching older movies and television shows, I never understood the appeal of Fabian. There have a been a lot of uninteresting manufactured stars over the years, but even by those standards he was bland.
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