I've always been a fan of the cards that never were concept. There's a bunch of people that create them on blogs, but the majority just create photos of the front. Bob Lemke goes through the effort of creating the entire card under the famous Bobbs logo. He has done some great work. There are also some that create truly custom cards with autos and memorabilia incorporated in their cards.
I see this as a huge missed opportunity by Topps. They've dabbled in it, but have made some gross mistakes.
Mistakes include the black and white photos in the 1953 Archives set of cards that never were. Another is when they re-create solo rookie cards of players originally on multiple player cards. Instead of creating a card true to the set, they just eliminate the other player.
I have decided to join the fray of actually creating the cards. I'm still in the training/developmental stages. I am open to tips and/or suggestions for gluing the fronts to the backs. Paper type and adhesive.
My goal is to make cards that match the original series as much as possible. To me the card should look like it belongs in the set.
My focus will be on rookie cards, final career cards (that include lifetime stats), and cards that were not made for various reasons. I'll also make some cards to send off for autographs.
I've included the fronts of a 1941 Play Ball Musial rookie and 1948 Bowman Greenberg career caper.