1982 Topps Blackless

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

The only 'blackless' I'm seeing is between posts 8 & 9, where George Brett's name is present on one - in black - and not in any color on the other.


It would be easier to understand if both versions of any given card were posted.

Thanks in advance for making things clearer for these old eyes.



.

On most 1982 Topps blackless cards the only things missing are the facsimile signature and the the border line around the photo. On three teams, Pirates, Phillies, and Orioles, the position is also missing. On the All Star cards the player’s name and the border line around the photo are missing. On the In Action cards the only thing missing is the border line around the photo. Some of the posters on this thread have shown both versions of the card, regular and blackless, I think that is what is confusing you.

[ALR-bishop]

There is also blacklessing and gray ghosts transition cards to ponder

[Tripredacus]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

On most 1982 Topps blackless cards the only things missing are the facsimile signature and the the border line around the photo. On three teams, Pirates, Phillies, and Orioles, the position is also missing. On the All Star cards the player’s name and the border line around the photo are missing. On the In Action cards the only thing missing is the border line around the photo. Some of the posters on this thread have shown both versions of the card, regular and blackless, I think that is what is confusing you.

I think what it is, is that the term is not wholly correct. What you describe is correct for what The 1982 Topps Blackless is supposed to mean, in this instance. The fascimile signature and the photo border line is missing.

However, it is not what a typical "blackless" card would look like, where the black plate was not used, or there was some error that caused that color to be missing. We can see that in the "true 1982 Topps" examples, it is not exactly the case, because black is still present in the player photos.

So that is why the term can be confusing. Certainly there would also exist 1982 Topps cards that were actually missing the black color, which then would technically be blackless, but would be different from this specific printing error known as 1982 Topps Blackless.

[jimtb]

I'm looking for a Blackless Alan Trammell if anyone has one to sell - thanks!

[swarmee]

https://www.comc.com/Cards/Baseball/...ure,sr,ot,i100
A seller or two have also been selling blank back proofs with no signature on them through COMC.

You can see on this Dale Murphy blank back that the black line around the photo is present, while the signature is missing. Not a true blackless card, but another interesting variation nonetheless.
I think COMC is mis-characterizing the In Action cards (and I've reported it to them) because those cards don't regularly come with the signature. Those should just be listed as blank backs.

[ALR-bishop]

When I was putting my Blackless set together, one of the first sellers I dealt with was zenithium. He sells under a different name now, I think crystalentia . He had a very elaborate description of cards he called Blackless, Blacklessing ( some gray), Bluesless and Autoless. I ended up with some Blacklessing in buying lots to fill out the Blackless set. I also bought a few Blueless, posted earlier.

What he called Autoless, like the one you posted John, were blank back, without the auto, but not Blackless. Proof cards ? I bought a Reggie Jackson that way. His descriptions of all 4 of these and how rare and valuable they are were a full page in length and almost literary masterpieces in salesmanship.

[swarmee]

Yeah, I figure these are proof cards since they're missing the signature but not the black frame.

[jimtb]

I've been looking for a Trammell Blackless for at least 30 years. I hit the jackpot, and now have roughly two sets like this!

[Fastball]

I started collecting baseball cards heavily in the summer of 1982 and I literally have tons of these cards and never noticed or heard af blackless until now. Most of mine are stored in Vans Off the Wall Shoe Boxes from that era. One of these days I'll have to go through them and see if I have any blackless cards ... cool!

[p819]

Looking for '82 Topps Cincinnati Reds only, any help would be appreciated.