Sunday, September 16, 2007

TOPPS: RAILS AND SAILS 1955 / 200-CARD COMPLETE SET PLUS WRAPPERS AND DISPLAY BOX AND UNCUT SHEETS

This is to my mind the most beautiful set of cards ever issued. Not every image has stunning merit - as with other sets, you can see the varying talent of artists working for Topps - but the ones that are special are really special - see, for example, Cards 12, 31, 90, 104, 140, or 149 - and the overall quality is high. The set has two parts, the first 130 cards, my favorites, being about trains, and the second 70 cards being about ships. The backs for each set have an entirely different design, all done with color, an unusual quality for trading cards. The backs also are among the most genuinely informative ever done. I still remember holding some of these cards after buying a pack down at the corner drugstore - not a frequent event for me and my brother: the excitement of opening the wax-paper package; the bright colors inside; and the pleasant smell of bubble gum. (See both sets of Rails and Sails in Chuckman's Non-Sports Trading Cards, Volumes 2 and 3.)

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - 200-CARD COMPLETE SET - FRONTS AND BACKS - PLUS WRAPPERS AND DISPLAY BOX - SET DESCRIPTION

Like Rails and Sails, 1955, Wings, 1952, was an unusually large set at 200 cards. It has the same mix of exciting images and rather mediocre ones that we find in other Topps sets of the time. The dramatic ones still remain impressive - examples include Cards 40, 49, 72, 111, 142, 145, 151, 185, or 193. Interestingly, Topps did not reach back much into the past to the beginnings of aviation with this set, as it did with Rails and Sails and with World on Wheels. It made some effort to be international here, but the set is overwhelmingly images of American planes.





JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 001 - T-33 JET TRAINER


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 002 - MIG-15 JET FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 003 - XC-120 PACK PLANE




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 004 - LINCOLN BOMBER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 005 - F-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 006 - AT-7 NAVIGATOR TRANSPORT


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 007 - PBY CATALINA PATROL BOMBER


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 008 - B-26 INVADER BOMBER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 009 - XF-91 FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 010 - F7U CUTLASS FIGHTER



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 011 - VAMPIRE FIGHTER

JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 012 - B-57 CANBERRA BOMBER


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 013 - SUNDERLAND PATROL FLYING BOAT







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 014 - PB4Y-2 PRIVATEER BOMBER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 015 - T-28 TRAINER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 016 - WYVERNE MK 2 FIGHTER



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 017 - BALLIOL T MK 2 TRAINER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 018 - F-47 THUNDERBOLT FIGHTER



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 019 - HUP-1 HELICOPTER





JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 020 - HERMES TRANSPORT






JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 021 - L-17 NAVION PRIVATE PLANE




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 022 - F3D SKYKNIGHT FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 023 - A M MAULER ATTACK PLANE


JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 024 - B-36 BOMBER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 025 - F8F BEARCAT FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 026 - F-80 SHOOTING STAR FIGHTER-BOMBER



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 027 - SEA ATTACKER FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 028 - F6F HELLCAT FIGHTER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 029 - P2V NEPTUNE BOMBER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 030 - AVRO JETLINER






JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 031 - C-121 CONSTELLATION TRANSPORT



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 032 - C-74 GLOBEMASTER 1 TRANSPORT







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 033 - F- 84F FIGHTER-BOMBER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 034 - F4U CORSAIR FIGHTER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 035 - FIREFLY FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 036 - C-125 RAIDER ASSAULT TRANSPORT




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 037 - C-46 COMMANDO TRANSPORT




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 038 - PE-2 BOMBER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 039 - A F GUARDIAN ATTACK PLANE







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 040 - C-82 PACKET TRANSPORT

JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 041 - R60 CONSTITUTION TRANSPORT







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 042 - IL-12 TRANSPORT




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 043 - HASTINGS TRANSPORT




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 044 - A J SAVAGE ATTACK BOMBER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 045 - F-82 TWIN-MUSTANG FIGHTER




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 046 - XF4D SKYRAY FIGHTER



JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 047 - T-6 TEXAN TRAINER







JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 048 - C-123 AVITRUK TRANSPORT




JOHN CHUCKMAN NON-SPORTS TRADING CARDS - TOPPS WINGS 1952 - CARD 049 - JRM MARS TRANSPORT