Lot # 1645: Ultra-Rare 1965 Topps "King Kong" Test Issue Mock-Up Production Proof Display Box

Offered is a unique production proof/mock-up display box from the extremely rare and desirable "King Kong" test series produced by Topps in 1965. “King Kong” is one of rarest and most desirable sets of all 1960s Topps test issues. The set was never widely issued to the public and may have only been available in a small number of Brooklyn-area stores according to non-sport experts. Many of the Topps test issue cards are believed to have originated over the years from Woody Gelman, the art director from Topps. Relatedly, the offered display box almost certainly originates from the archives of Topps. This is a very early and extremely significant production mock-up. According to respected Topps researcher Dave Hornish, who profiled this box in his blog several years ago and reviewed images during the course of our research, the production quality of the box is lower than one would expect to see in a proof production by Topps, but it closely resembles mock-up work likely undertaken by the Topps art department. Given that "King Kong" (as well as "Flash Gordon," for a which a similar box is offered separately in this auction) were test issues produced in very limited quantities, it may not have warranted the effort from Topps to produce final issue boxes (or even more elaborate proof boxes) for a distribution effort that was not going to take place. The box is constructed by way of affixing paper designs to each of the panels of a plain white box. It is rudimentary in its construction and does show lift at the corners and along the edges. This is a mock-up box that we have never seen before but which represents a very significant look into the creative world of the 1960s Topps art department and the extremely rare "King Kong" series.