Lot # 846: 1948 Topps "Hocus Focus" Magic Photo Album with 53 Cards Including Babe Ruth and Tris Speaker

Presented is an outstanding collection of 1948 Topps "Magic Photos" cards, consisting of 53 different of the 252 subjects in the set. Most assume that the first Topps card issues were in 1951. In fact, the very first Topps card issue was the unusual "Magic Photos" set of 1948. This was also Topps' first baseball-card set. The "Magic Photos" set consists of nineteen subsets, with this collection highlighted by nine of the nineteen players in the baseball subset, including Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Connie Mack, and Tris Speaker. The 44-card balance represents a near-complete "Movie Stars" subset (44/45), missing only #29-J Rod Cameron for completion. The movie stars are highlighted by Lon Chaney, Heddy Lamarr, Eddie Albert, Roddy McDowell, and William Bendix (as Babe Ruth). These "self-developing" cards (7/8 x 1-7/16 inches) were called "Magic Photos" because when issued they had blank fronts, and the sepia photos on the fronts could be developed by youngsters by exposing them to the sun. This set has always been very popular among nonsport collectors, but its great significance as Topps' first baseball card set has never fully been appreciated by baseball-card collectors. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the self-developing process produced very inconsistent results, and many cards that have survived have photos that are very poorly developed. In terms of overall condition and photo quality, this group is better than the norm, with the majority having pleasing contrast and detail. Included is an original album which was designed to house half of the set. The album is in Very Good condition overall, with scattered creases on the covers. This collection was consigned to us with the cards displayed in the "tuck in the corners"-style album pages. We carefully removed the cards in order to properly grade them. Includes the following nine baseball players: #1-K Boudreau (Gd+), 2-K Cleveland Indians (Gd), 3-K Elliott (Vg-Ex), 4-K Cleveland Indians 4-3 (Fr), 5-K Boudreau Scoring (Vg-Ex), 6-K Ruth (0/100 L/R, otherwise Vg-Ex), 7-K Speaker (Vg), 8-K Hornsby (Vg-Ex), and 9-K Mack (Fr). The condition of the near-complete "Movie Stars" subset ranges from Gd to Vg-Ex (averaging Vg), with a few lesser. This is a very significant and scarce early Topps issue, which has always been somewhat overlooked by collectors, perhaps because of its unusual design and dimensions. Total: 53 cards and one album.