1953 Topps Baseball Card Poster by Gerry Dvorak
 

]Happy holidays net54 baseball community

i need help to see if any community members have ever seen this 1953 original art poster by gerry dvorak. I have researched the net including worthpoint. No record of this poster . POSTER SIZE: 22" x 28"

I have also conducted a black light test on the poster. The same method used by henry yee. Article about black light testing done by paul messier. This black light test will show the age of the print. The lighter the purple glo means print was manufactured before 1970. The bright glow after 1980 to the present. This poster has a very light glow.

My questions to the community, first; has anyone seen another?

Second; could this have bee an advertisement for the 1953 topps or 1953 archives cards?

I know that mr. Dvorak passed in 1999. Could this have been a pre production print never released??

Poster signed by gerry dvorak, ed mathews, clem labine, bobby morgan and al schoendienst.

Took this poster to jsa on monday 11/30. All signatures passed.

Any information , thank you.

Need a bigger/better photo, but definitely looks like a post-production piece (made well after the 1953 time frame).

Have never seen that poster before. But it appears to show pictures of 1953 Topps cards, not pictures of the original artwork. I remember when Marriott bought the actual paintings for the Mantle and Mays in the Topps auction. They then issued prints of the paintings in limited number.

From my recollection, there was never any evidence that Dvorak actually painted the Mantle and Mays, other than his "say-so." Topps did not have any records from that period that would help settle the issue.

Dvorak, at the time, repainted the Mantle portrait. I remember showing it to a friend who is a well-respected artist. His conclusion was that if Dvorak had painted the original, his skills as an artist had declined over the years as represented by his re-draw of the portrait. From an artist's view, the newer painting lacked the subtlety, shadings, details and other finer points (beyond my non-artistic senses) that were part of the original drawing. His conclusion (only) was that Dvorak was not the original artist. Albeit, still an artist of some skill, and certainly a better painting than I could have accomplished lol. And as a caveat, may have been painted quicker to take advantage of the marketing push of the Marriott prints. (although the other side of that equation is that the artists who painted the original 1953 portraits were probably under extreme deadlines as well.)

It's interesting that of the portraits he claims to have painted (per the poster), the Mantle and Mays are not among them. But, it's one of those things we'll never know for sure. I'm attaching a picture of both the original portrait (on the left) and the later rendition (on the right).

THANK YOU FOR GETTING BACK TO ME. I WILL TRY TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, WHEN I LEARN HOW...lol MY QUESTION IS WHY NO OTHER COPY CAN BE FOUND. HE DID SIGN THIS PRINT AND IT DID PASS JSA ON MONDAY 11/30..

Your black light information is incorrect.

Dvorak did later prints and artworks, so I assume it's from after 1953.

I've never see that before, so maybe it is a rare piece.

1953 Topps Gerry Dvorak
 

Thank you for your information on Black light. I do understand how to tell age of photos and prints. The black light on this print is very light. So through my understanding, it does eliminates a 1990 print. Yes you are correct about Gerry Dvorak designing prints in his later years.

I also agree with you that I haven’t found another example. The only clue we may have is him signing this poster to Stuart as well as the players. I guess I need to further my research on who Stuart it.

Thank you for your information. I do appreciate all the expertise on Net54Baseball. You all are the BEST there is in the hobby.