(LOT 1030)
Ultra-Scarce 1949 Bowman Uncut sheet w/36 Subjects Includes Musial, Feller, Spahn, Kiner & Reese
After the outstanding success of their inaugural 1948 black & white gathering, the ultra-popular Bowman Gum Co. issued a large 240-card set in 1949, now utilizing colorful player images. Loaded with legendary Hall of Famers, this large set included cards with a splendid array of blue and red background hues with brief player bios on the reverse side. Presented here just happens to be one of the rarest collectibles from this 1949 Bowman production, a 36-card uncut sheet that includes the first 36 subjects of the set (checklist #1's 1-36 from left to right).

A substantial 25% of the cards represent Cooperstown inductees including: Boudreau (#11); Doerr (#23); Musial (#24); Kell/Rookie Card (#26); Feller (#27); Kiner (#29); Spahn (#33); Pee Wee Reese (#36). While a majority of the obverse sides portray fine aesthetics (with the notable exceptions being a small tear along the lower right border of Bob Feller and some creasing and serious corner layering on the #1 Bickford subject), the reverse side includes overprint anomalies for subjects 73-108. Indeed, we can only assume that a factory printing error inadvertently had the backs of these first 36 cards re-struck with the backs from subjects 73-108, most likely resulting in the sheet not being cut and saved as a "scrapper sheet" by a previous Bowman Company employee.

Other condition issues include irregular/wavy cut edges and the sheet being affixed to a white picture mat with clear tape strips residing on the verso near all four corners. Yet, as most enthusiasts would agree, the sheer existence of this extremely rare 36-card uncut 1949 Bowman sheet far surpasses any condition related issues. A highly unusual cardboard collectible, its virtual unparalleled obscurity merits it serious hobby accolades from any esteemed hobbyist! For your convenience, listed below are all 36 subjects that are presented from left to right: Bickford (1), Lockman (2), Porterfield (3), Priddy (4), Sauer (5), Cavaretta (6), Dobson (7), Dickson (8), Fain (9), Gray (10), Boudreau/HOF (11), Michaels (12), Chesnes (13), Simmons (14), Garver (15), Kosar (16), Torgeson (17), Thomson (18), Brown (19), Hermanski (20), Baumholtz (21), Lowrey (22), Doerr/HOF (23), Musial/HOF (24), Scheib (25), Kell/HOF/R (26), Feller/HOF (27), Kolloway (28), Kiner/HOF (29), Seminick (30), Kokos (31), Yost (32), Spahn/HOF (33), Koslo (34), Raschi (35), Reese/HOF (36)

MIN BID $600
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