A collector whose name is lost to history, and perhaps deservedly so, decided the classic 1952 Topps design on Mr. Hogue's card wasn't artful enough. Did they not like the pinstripes? Too up-and-down, too geometric, too constrictive? It's hard to argue with the pizazz they added. Hard to argue when you're stunned speechless what people would do to a vintage Yankee card, anyway.Nuts, thinks Bobby. I'm on a contender. I coulda been somebody. Well-centered, crease-free, good eye appeal. Anything but a bum chop-job, which is what I am, let's face it.
This card does feature sharp corners. 39 sharp corners. Typically people trim a card to "fix corner defects" or "true up mis-cut edges." Applying pinking shears to the problem is a novel approach, but I bet even PRO grading wouldn't cotton to this one.
Most vintage collectors, and I'm right there with them, can't be picky on condition. This 1952 Hogue isn't from my own collection, but does present a little better than my set's "Hodges with a cigarette burn" and "Spahn that's sort of rectangular." Check out the lower left corner, though. Our card re-decorator didn't take just one bite at the apple, but came back for a second, touch-up pass. After all, if you're going to jump in, do it with both pointy, zig-zaggedy feet.
2 comments:
That... is beautiful, man.
It does make me think of the laser-cut cards featured earlier on this blog. That, and the 39 corners have an almost equal number of anti-corners. It boggles the mind.
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